Hanakotoba no Kazukazu
by SunshineSketch
Summary: In which Sasuke Uchiha pursues Ino Yamanaka. A Road to Ninja prompt.
1. Prologue

**_Hanakotoba no Kazukazu_**

_... The Many Meanings of Flowers_

_**x:x:x:x:x**_

_**Summary: **In which Sasuke Uchiha pursues a shy Yamanaka. A series prompted by Road to Ninja._

* * *

_**Prologue**_

Everyone knew Sasuke Uchiha of Konohagakure no Sato. A member of Team Seven, who included his best friend Menma Namikaze**(1)** and Sakura Haruno, daughter of the late Yondaime Kizashi Haruno. Younger brother to Itachi Uchiha, one of the many heroic ninjas in the Akatsuki organization. And a carefree flirt that wasn't afraid to pursue multiple girls at the same time.

Yep, that was Sasuke Uchiha in a nutshell. And at the moment, he and Menma Namikaze were enjoying a bowl of ramen at Ichiraku's.

"So, Sasuke." Menma asked over a mouthful of pork ramen. "Whatever happened to that one girl you were dating, Aya, right?"

"Nadeshiko." Sasuke corrected. "I dumped her last week."

Menma rolled his eyes. When Sasuke first started this 'date a girl for a little while then break it off later' thing he used to flip out all the time, but now he was used to it. "Geez, Teme, why don't you just settle down already?"

"When Neji Hyuga finally isn't a pervert." The young Uchiha replied back, holding back a smirk. Neji was a notorious pervert who had a habit for peeking on girls with his Byakugan eye.

Menma laughed. Those moments were hilarious to watch considering the fact Neji's cousin, Hinata, would always beat the crap out of him afterwards. "Nice metaphor." The blonde ninja slurped down the remainders of his ramen in one gulp and sighed. "Is there _any_ girl you haven't nailed yet? Excluding Hinata and Sakura-chan, of course."

Sasuke tilted his head in thought, was there any girl that didn't throw herself at him?

At that moment, Team Ten passed by and that's when it hit him.

"Ino Yamanaka."

* * *

_ There you go, chapter one of my first ever Naruto Fanfiction (which is LONG overdue in my opinion)! And a Road to Ninja fic nonetheless. Still, I hope you enjoy this fanfic. In truths, this was inspired by an AU!SasuIno picture I saw on deviantART you guys should check it out._

_**(1)** In this fanfiction, whenever I say Menma I'm referring to Naruto because technically speaking, that's AU!Naruto's name. Menma. And because I love regular Naruto so much, I'll just retain his love for ramen noodles in this story._

_~SunshineSketch_


	2. Daffodil

**_Hanakotoba no Kazukazu_**

_... The Many Meanings of Flowers_

_**x:x:x:x:x**_

_**Summary: **In which Sasuke Uchiha pursues a shy Yamanaka. A series prompted by Road to Ninja._

* * *

_**Daffodil ~ N**__ew Beginnings_

Hinata Hyuga's bawdy laughter echoed throuh out the Yamanaka Flower Shop. "Seriously?!" Even Ino, the shy heroine of our story, couldn't hold back a small laugh. As usual, it was around the time of Ino Yamanaka's day when her friends, Hinata Hyuga and Sakura Haruno, stopped by to gossip for an hour or two.

To her left was Hinata, a Hyuga bolder than most who was the exact opposite of Ino. Her lips were stained red with lipstick and her clothes revealed a high majority of her skin. And her hair, a beautiful navy blue, that was usually down was up in a cute side ponytail.

Then to Ino's right was Sakura Haruno, the daughter of the legendary Kizashi Haruno. She was a surefire sight with her -natural- shoulder length pink hair and bright green eyes. Trained by the Lady Fifth herself, this Haruno was a force to reckon with.

"P-poor Menma-san." Ino stifled anoyher laugh with a hand. According to Sakura, her blonde teammate, Menma Namikaze, somehow managed to pick a fight with Kiba Inuzuka's cat...

And lost!

Even Hinata, who had an extremely obvious crush on the boy, couldn't resist laughing at him. "Don't worry about him." Hinata gave a pointed look at Ino even though the words came out lightly. "The future Hokage is tough enough to handle a Kitty Smack down."

Sakura snickered at the statement, "So now he's the future Hokage, huh?" The pinkette giggled again. "Just the other day you were going on about how he was the future Lord of the Hyuga Clan."

"Menma can be both!"

Ino sweat dropped held up her hands defensively in an act of peace. "S-Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan. C-calm down..." But as expected, the the fiery kunoichi continued their bickering. The blue eyed girl sighed and set her hands down with closed eyes. Hopefuly the passersby outside the shop wouldn't be too frightened to come in.

_But even so,_ Ino smiled. _Hinata-can and Sakura-chan keep my life entertaining._

Now you're probably wondering as shy as Ino was friends with such loudmouths, and to be honest I can't help but wonder too. But the three girls had been the best of friends since they decided to be shinobi.

The confident Hinata and the daring Sakura.

_And then there's me.._. Ino sighed as she compared herself to her friends. She wasn't beautiful like Hinata or strong like Sakura. She was just Ino Yamanaka, the medic-nin of Team Ten.

"Hey Ino," Sakura waved a hand in front of the blonde's face. "You still with us?"

Ino snapped back into it. "O-oh, sorry Sakura-chan."_ Get a hold of yourself Ino..._ "What did you say?"

Sakura opened her mouth to speak but Hinata beat the pinkette to the punch. "I said you two need boyfriends."

Just the thought of the word 'boyfriend' set Ino's face in flames. "Hinata-chan!" She shouted at the blunette.

Hinata merely shrugged, unfazed. "It's true."

"Like you're one to talk," Sakura snapped playfully. "You aren't even dating anyone!"

"I-I am!" Hinata blushed, an un-Hinata like thing to do. "Menma just hasn't realized it yet." But Sakura laughed at the girl's poor excuse. When it came to Menma, Hinata was extremely aggressive. Wearing sexy clothing, though she did that naturally on her own time, and even threatening other potential love interests when it came down to it. But the bold girl known as Hinata Hyuga had yet to confess her love verbally to the boy.

Just like Ino with her crush on-

"Thinking about Sasuke?" Sakura guessed by how red Ino's face was. "Really Ino, you could do better."

"Sa-Sakura-chan!" Ino shot up to make sure the three kunoichi were still the only ones in the small flower shop. "Someone might hear you!"

"It's no big deal," Hinata added, trying to reassure the blonde. "Do you know how many girls are madly in love with the Uchiha already?"

But that didn't comfort Ino at, and who could blame her?!

Sasuke Uchiha, the black stallion of Konoha. A talented ninja and a killer flirt with the looks to match. And the object of Ino Yamanaka's affections since their days at the Ninja Academy.

"But..." Ino looked down at her hands.

"Ino," Sakura placed a hand on her friend's back. "Hinata's just saying you're not the only girl that's in love with Sasuke."

Ino nodded, "I know..."

Sakura continued, "But still. Sasuke's handled more girls than you have flowers. So I wouldn't recommend pining after him."

Ino put her hands up again. "Oh, no, no! I going to try anything like that with Uchiha-san!" Hinata and Sakura shared a knowing look as Ino continued her rant. "I mean, he wouldn't gain any interest in a girl like me anyway! That's true... It was a well known fact that Sasuke preferred more outgoing girls like Sakura and Hinata. But a small fragment of side of her still hoped.

Hinata stood up, "Well I'm gonna head off now." She stretched out her arms with a small yawn. "Training with Kurenai-sensei."

"Ah, okay Hinata-chan." Ino stood up hurriedly and bowed. "Thank you for stopping by."

The blue haired girl winked. "How _else_ am I gonna get my daily dose of_ "Menma Watch"_?"

"So now you're using us now, huh?" Sakura raised a pink eyebrow as she stood to leave too.

The three girls all laughed.

"Bye guys." Ino waved as Hinata and Sakura exited the shop entrance, and as soon as they were gone Ino stopped. It was back to business. It was right in the middle of Spring, one of the Shop's busiest seasons when it came to selling flowers. And when it came to selling Flowers the Yamanaka family were the best people to go to.

"Hello?" A small bell jingled as the door opened.

The blonde kunoichi dashed to the front desk quickly, her usual closed eyes and cheery smile plus voice set. "Hello! Welcome to Yamanaka Flowers, how may I help you?"

The voice, male, spoke with the sound of a smirk. "How about... One date." It was not a question.

Ino opened her eyes at that voice. "Sasuke... Uchiha... -san." She gulped.

"No."

* * *

_Whoa! Twelve whole reviews for the prologue! That's a new record going down in my FFN book (under Naruto atleast)! __Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story in the previous chapters. It's much appreciated._

_And sorry for the slow update. Our Comcast internet service has been going CRAZY over here! But here you guys go (and sorry this chapter is short too. It seemed longer on paper)._

_~SunshineSketch_

**Next Chapter:_ Striped Carnations ~ Rejection_**


	3. Striped Carnations

**_Hanakotoba no Kazukazu_**

_... The Many Meanings of Flowers_

_**x:x:x:x:x**_

_**Summary: **In which Sasuke Uchiha pursues a shy Yamanaka. A series prompted by Road to Ninja._

* * *

_**Striped Carnations ~ **__Rejection_

_"Bye guys." Ino waved as Hinata and Sakura exited the shop entrance, and as soon as they were gone Ino stopped. It was back to business. It was right in the middle of Spring, one of the Shop's busiest seasons when it came to selling flowers. And when it came to selling Flowers the Yamanaka family were the best people to go to._

_"Hello?" A small bell jingled as the door opened._

_The blonde kunoichi dashed to the front desk quickly, her usual closed eyes and cheery smile plus voice set. "Hello! Welcome to Yamanaka Flowers, how may I help you?"_

_The voice, male, spoke with the sound of a smirk. "How about... One date." It was not a question._

_Ino opened her eyes at that voice. "Sasuke... Uchiha... -san." She gulped._

_"No."_

**_And with that last note, Ino Yamanaka's ordinary life was turned upside down._**

Ino's jaw dropped and her skin paled as that one word played back through her mind. _"No."_ She couldn't believe it, and judging the look on Sasuke's face, neither did he. The shyest girl in the entire village of Konoha, just said _no_ to _the_ Sasuke Uchiha! Ino's blue eyes looked up at the ceiling for a brief moment, _Great spirits take me now!_

Maybe it was just his hearing playing tricks on him, but Sasuke Uchiha was pretty sure that Ino Yamanaka had just said 'no' to him. He gave her a strange look for a split second, but then went back to his usual flirtatious face. "What was that Ino_-chan_?" For all he knew, maybe his hearing was messing around with his mind.

"I..." Ino's hands clasped together and her thumbs twiddled. If Hinata was here Ino already knew the wisdom she'd be imparting to the blonde: It's too late to turn back now. If you did, that would be submitting to your weaknesses and your enemy's strengths. And in this case, saying 'yes' was Ino's weakness, and getting what he wants was Sasuke's strength.

Which meant the Yamanaka had no choice.

So looking Sasuke as square in the eye as she could Ino parted her lips, "I said no."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "And why not?"

_I was afraid he'd ask that..._ "Well," she searched her mind for a good excuse that wouldn't sound like a lie. After all, Ino was a terrible liar. "It's spring. This is one of our busiest times of year at the shop so, my parents will need all the help they can get here." Well, at least that wasn't a complete lie. When it came to business, the Yamanaka Flower Shop's busiest seasons came during Spring and Summer, but Fall and Winter depended on a couple of things.

The amounts of injuries and hospital visits, and the seasonal festivals.

But whether or not Sasuke chose to believe it was up to him. The boy just gave her a small disbelieving look before saying something. "So what about after the season's over?"

This boy was persistent. "Um... After spring it's gonna be summer." Ino said instantly. "That's our other busy season."

"Hmm, I see." Sasuke observed her with a hand wrapped around his chin. It was true that the Yamanaka's did have heavy business at certain times of the year, but he wasn't stupid. Ino Yamanaka was trying to throw him off her scent, but Sasuke wasn't known for being a quitter. _Then I'll just have to wait till you're not busy then._ His dark eyes looked over at the green house behind her. "I'd like to buy some flowers, please."

_Finally,_ Ino let out an invisible sigh of relief. Something she could deal. "Okay then," she motioned her head for Sasuke to look at the different assortments of ribbons and tissue paper. "Do you want a bouquet or an arrangement in a vase?"

"A bouquet would be nice." Sasuke answered. "With purple ribbons."

Ino nodded and complied his request, "And do you know what kind of flowers you'd like to get already?"

The raven haired boy nodded. He didn't know that much about flowers but with his mother's always buying flowers he knew a few meanings. " A dozen purple tulips, variegated."

_That was a good choice._ Ino thought to herself as she cut a few tulips at a time. Tulips were an old time favorite with customers, they weren't too elegant or too plain. They were right in the middle of the two. And let's face it, purple was Ino's favorite color. Said girl smiled softly to herself. After she finally cut out the dozen she cut a long strand of wide purple ribbon and wrapped it around the bouquet in the making, then to hold into place she placed three light purple pearl pins down the middle of it.

But it still looked incomplete. Ino turned her head over at Sasuke who stood at the counter patiently. "Would you like me to add another ribbon, smaller this time?" And Sasuke gave a nonchalant shrug, he didn't care either away as long the bouquet turned out good.

So with that confirmation, Ino cut a thinner, darker purple ribbon and tied it around the larger ribbon, making a large diamond shaped pattern.

There, she was finished. Walking back up to the counter, Ino smiled as she handed Sasuke the newly made bouquet. "All together that would be 1,760 yen."

Sasuke couldn't feign a look of surprise. "Seriously?" He looked down at the beautiful bouquet of tulips. "The Katagiri Flower Shop by my house is twice as expensive." He handed her the yen amount.

Ino blushed as she accepted the money. The Katagiris and the Yamanakas were rivals in the floral business, and while each shop were neck-and-neck in the beauty of their arrangements... The Yamanaka Shop did have better prices. Sasuke would have to make sure to tell his mom this information sos he wouldn't have to waste her money needlessly.

"Th- thank you, Uchiha-san..." Even though she had more or less promised to her best friends that she wouldn't take anything Sasuke said or did seriously, she couldn't push down the warmth of his compliment. "I hope who ever you bought the flowers for enjoys them."

The boy nodded, "So do I." He looked back down at the flowers briefly then back up at Ino. "You like the color purple, right?" Ino nodded confusingly, what did her color preference have to do with the bouquet? But when Sasuke's ever so famous smirk appeared on her face it hit her. "Then I'm pretty sure she will." He placed the flowers she just gave him back to her.

That through Ino for a loop, "Wh- what?" She looked at the Uchiha to get some sort of explanation, but said boy was already walking out the door waving his hand.

"By the way Yamanaka, you have beautiful eyes."

And that's when another thing hit Ino. The meaning of any color of variegated tulips meant: Beautiful Eyes.

**~ ; ~**

"Wait, wait, wait." Menma Namikaze could not believe this. "Sasuke Uchiha was_ rejected_ by a girl?!" The blonde boy busted out laughing instantly. This news had to be the funniest thing he's ever heard other than the time he spiked Iruka Umino's tea with laxatives. And that prank had him rolling nonstop for several hours.

Sasuke's right eyebrow twitched irritably at his so called best friend's laughter, "Shut it, Namikaze." It was bad enough his ego was hurt by hearing a girl tell him no to something, but Menma had nothing better to do than to rub it in his face. "I don't ever see you scoring dates."

That shut Menma up, "Touche, Uchiha." Actually in all truths, Menma was pretty popular with the ladies. But one look from his number one stalker, Hinata Hyuga, they all decided they'd better take their chances with a 'safer' guy than die trying to date Menma. Not like Sasuke would ever tell that idiot the truth, though. "But still, Menma Namikaze never thought he'd live to see this day. I like Yamanaka-chan already." He grinned.

"So," Memna began, starting to calm down. "Any reason she said no?"

"She said that she was busy at the shop."

Menma gave a slight nod, "That's a reasonable excuse."

Sasuke hit the blonde upside the head, "Or a believable excuse to say 'I'm avoiding you'." After all, being the shy girl Ino was she probably wasn't used to being asked out on dates. Especially dates that involve Sasuke Uchiha, so that probably flipped her out then and there. And as her usual line of defense, Ino retreated back into her protective shell of shyness.

Which would be a hindrance in Sasuke's 'mission' if he was to pursue the girl.

Not only that but she friends with Hinata Hyuga and Sakura Haruno, and those two kunoichi were very protective of their friend and new of Sasuke's player ways. And that was another problem added on to Sasuke's list.

"This will be entertaining for me." Sasuke said which made Menma give a look that said 'huh?'. "Every girl I've ever asked out on a date said 'yes', but unlike them she said 'no'. Not only that she has protective friends and a shell of shyness to hide behind. So pursuing her will be entertaining for me because I've never dealt with a girl like her before."

Menma could only shrug to that statement, he wasn't much of a ladies' man so he couldn't really see Sasuke's point of view. "Why don't you get to know her first?"

Sasuke broke off from his train of thought. "Huh?"

"I said, why don't you get to know her." Menma repeated. "You never did that with any of the other girls, right? So why don't you this time? Learn her likes, dislikes, and her strong points and et cetera."

The younger Uchiha son blinked in mere surprise before bursting out into a small smirk, "For once Menma, I agree with you." If he was going to pursue Ino Yamanaka he would have to be slower than usual, take his time. Then once she trusted him and felt comfortable around him, then he would go in for the kill. Then after that, move on to the next available girl. Just like he usually did.

Sasuke stood up, "Well see you later, Menma." He bid farewell. "Gotta get home before the Mother starts to panic over nothing."

Menma laughed, "Me too, I remember what happened the last I showed up late." He shuddered. His mother, Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze, formally known as the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero, was extremely scary and strict unlike Shikamaru's mother, Yoshino Nara**(1)**. "See you tomorrow at training, Sasuke-teme."

"Later."

...

_"Ino." Sakura Haruno gave Ino Yamanaka the fiercest glare she could produce. "I'm letting you know right now that I'm not fighting you over Sasuke."_

_Said girl flinched at Sakura's sudden show of boldness, her ponytail moving slight as she moved her head back. But then Ino inwardly shook her head, "Get over yourself, you crybaby!"_

_~ ; ~_

_Enraged, Ino placed her hands in the position of her family's character trait ninjutsu. The Shintenshin, the mind transfer technique. The astral projection whereby any Yamanaka Clan member can temporarily take control of their opponent's body, heart, and soul! But any miscalculations could end up with her losing this match in the Chunin Exams, and Ino would not allow that to happen._

_Normally she'd have Shikamaru use his Kagemane no jutsu, shadow possession technique, to hold Sakura into place, but the young Yamanaka had a plan in mind. A risky one, but a plan nonetheless._

_"Shintenshin no jutsu!" Ino yelled, and with the quickness of a kunai Sakura ran out the way of projectile._

_Ino slumped forward._

_Sakura smirked. "You lose, Ino." She was about to walk out the arena in victory, but for some reason she couldn't move. "Wh- what the?! Why can't I move?!"_

_Then with a smirk of her own, Ino's head rose up. "Looks like you fell for it Sakura." She moved her foot slightly to show the chakra flow extending from her foot, to her hair that covered Sakura's ankles. "I knew for a fact I wouldn't be able to possess you on my own, so why you were busy goading on and on about how I wouldn't be able to to stop you..._

_... I infused some of my own chakra into my hair to stop you." She stuck out her tongue to a wide-eyed Haruno. "And so..."  
_

_With many hearts pounding in slow motion, they all knew what words were coming out of Ino's mouth next._

_"Shintenshin no jutsu!"_

**~ ; ~**

Ino woke up with a start.

That was the most intense dream she had in a while. Though this was the first time it happened in a while, Ino often had dreams like this. It was like a whole new alternate universe or something. Everyone in that world was different, including all the members of Team Ten.

Shikamaru was smart, Choji was fat -forgive me, big boned-**(2)**, Kiba liked dogs and hated cats, TenTen could actually use weapons, Sasuke was cold hearted and hated his brother, and Menma was Naruto! And most shockingly of all, Neji wasn't a pervert, Hinata was shy, and Sakura's parents were alive. Instead, Minato Namikaze was the fourth Hokage and he and his wife Kushina was dead.

And then there alternate Ino... She was bold, cheerful, and loud - like Hinata- and often wore her hair up in a high ponytail a top her head to show off her face. Alternate Ino was everything real Ino wanted to be... Stronger.

_But even so..._ Ino wiped the sweat from her forehead. _I could never imagine trying to fight Sakura!_ Sakura, her best friend since her childhood. She and Hinata were always there whenever Ino needed them to be. So why on earth would her dream-self do something as absurd as fighting Sakura over Sasuke Uchiha?!

Ino blushed.

That was another thing that was different in that alternate universe. Like in reality, her dream-self also liked Sasuke... But dream Sakura did, too. And in one dream where the two of them were children, where Sakura was the shy one and Ino was the bold one, Sakura decided to end their friendship over their crushes over said boy.

Which is how Ino knew a world like that couldn't exist.

Neither her, Sakura, or Hinata would end their friendship over something so trivial as a boy. _Our friendship runs deeper than that..._ Ino smiled with closed eyes.

_"Waaah!" A five year old Ino Yamanaka was currently bawling her eyes out into her hands and knees as she sat in a far corner of Konoha Park. Her hair was much shorter than it was in the future, and she wore a reclusive kimono-like outfit. It was only her second week attending the Konoha Ninja Academy and she hated it! Not only did she have no friends... but she had to deal with loud-mouthed bully Nadeshiko Katagiri. (That name ring a bell, reader?)_

_"Crybaby Ino! Crybaby Ino!" Nadeshiko and her followers Ami and Yuki chanted in unison._

_Nadeshiko laughed haughtily, "All you ever do is cry," She crossed her arms. "What kind of ninja are you? Ninjas don't cry! Just give it up already!"_

_Ino dug her head deeper into her arms. Nadeshiko was right. A girl like her wasn't fit to be a ninja if all she was going to do was cry. Whatever happened to the twenty-fifth rule of Shinobi Conduct, A shinobi must never show emotion?_

_And that's when it happened. Something very magical in the terms of Ino Yamanaka._

_"Hey Nadeshiko, why don't you stop picking on little kids and start paying more attention to your sense of fashion?!" _

Huh?_ Ino looked up and saw something she thought only happened in dreams. There they stood, two of the prettiest girls Ino had ever seen standing side by side with their hands on their hips. Like heroes in one of the action movies Ino saw at the movie theatre. It was amazing._

_One girl had short pink hair that was pulled back into a small ponytail, and a ribbon with a bow to the side of right ear kept her bangs out her face. Her eyes were jade green and Ino instantly knew who she was: the daughter of Kizashi Haruno- Sakura Haruno._

_And to Sakura's left there another girl with short hair, navy blue though, and her pearl colored eyes shown with no pupils in sight. She wore a small tube top and booty cut shorts, and her hair was 'cutened' up with several hair clips. Ino recognized her as one of the girls in her class, but she couldn't remember her name. She did know she was a Hyuga though._

_"You two!" Nadeshiko yelled angrily. "You two are always butting your noses were they don't belong."_

_The Hyuga girl, the one who spoke previously, stuck her nose up in the air to make a point. "At least our noses are much prettier, wouldn't you say Sakura?"_

_Sakura nodded smugly, "I would Hinata. But Nadeshiko's... It looks like some kind of grape fruit."_

_Nadeshiko's face was as red as a tomato, she couldn't really say anything to retaliate. Her nose _was_ rather large, only slightly though. "Why don't you two mind your own business?!"_

_Hinata glared at Nadeshiko, her teasing aura gone. "Why don't you?" She pointed her chin in Ino's direction and the shy girl flinched away from her harsh gaze. "She was minding her own business till you three decided to ruin the peace."_

_Sakura took a step forward, "And she's our classmate." She pointed out angrily. "You're not supposed to pick on your classmates, your suppose to help be their strength when they need help! Why do _you_ waste your time learning to be a shinobi?!" _

_Nadeshiko looked behind her at Ami and Yuki, at this rate it would better to back away then bite the hands of those stronger than them. "Hmph!" She turned away and started to walk away. "Come on guys, let's go." And with that, Ino's number one bully and her minions left the area to go play on the empty swings._

_Sakura scoffed as she looked over at what she deemed 'pathetic kunoichi in the making', "Those guys. They always think they're better than anyone else."_

_Hinata nodded in agreement, "Like to see them beat me in a fight." She laughed at the thought, but stopped when her eyes landed back on Ino who looked more scared than ever. And who could blame the poor girl, right in front of her eyes were the toughest girls in her class! "Hey kid, you alright?" She took a step closer. "Don't worry about Nadeshiko, she's just a punk."_

_But Ino didn't hear the kindness in her words, she only felt more tears welling up in her eyes as she hid further behind her bangs._

_The pinkette beside Hinata squatted down in front of Ino, "No wonder Nadeshiko and her gang always pick on you." She brushed up Ino's bangs. "You cover up your entire face like an old sheep dog."_

_Ino whimpered, it was true. The blue haired girl sighed and observed Ino with a critical eye. "You'd definitely would look better if people could see something besides your hair." Her face lit up and she took off one of her hair clips, the turquoise one, and held up the left side of Ino's hair. "There! Much better."_

_"Huh?" _

_Hinata grinned, "Don't worry about the hair clip, I have a dozen more at home." When Ino didn't say anything, the smile vanished from her face and she glared instead. "Well aren't you going to say thank you?!" She yelled._

_"Th-thank you!"_

_Sakura held back her short tempered friend. "Shy girl, Hinata! Shy girl!" She laughed nervously. "Sorry about her. What's your name? I'm Sakura." The late Yondaime's daughter held out a hand.  
_

_"And _I'm_ Hinata of the Hyuga Clan," Hinata introduced herself, with a proud look on her face. She pointed over at a blonde boy with whisker marks on his face. "And _that's_ my future husband, Menma Namikaze." Sakura laughed, her hand still extended outwards._

_Even though she couldn't really believe what had happened right now, Ino smiled and slowly reached a hand toward Sakura's. "I'm Ino..." The blonde said nervously. "Ino Yamanaka."_

And since that one day in the large park of Konoha Village, the three girls had been the best of friends. Ino smiled at her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her hair. And nothing was going to change that. No boy, no village change, and not even death. _Blood may be thick,_ the shy Yamanaka reckoned._ But friendship extends all past that._

"Ino!" The voice of Shiori Yamanaka, Ino's mother, sounded up the stairs.

"Ha- Hai?!"

"There's a friend of yours downstairs!"

Speak of the devil, Ino couldn't hold back a giggle as she bounded for the stairs. That had to be either Sakura or Hinata right now, dropping by for either breakfast or to ask Ino to go shopping with them. "Sakura-chan!" With closed eyes, she gladly hugged the unknown figure that would most likely be fifty percent right. Even though she was the shyest being in Konoha, Ino could always hug her friends excitedly after so many years of knowing them.

But the deep, sultry voice coming from the person she hugged, "Not quite."

* * *

_Phew, finally I've posted the next chapter in Hanakotoba no Kazukazu and to comply everyone's request, this chapter's longer! Yay! I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. __And as you could see I even added some tidbits from the Regular!Naruto series, and I even had a flashback of how the inseparable trio became the best of friends._

_Now, before I close in I just wanted to let you all know I added another poll onto my profile..._

_Which do you prefer, MenmaSaku or MenmaHina? I already know [I ooze swag] wants MenmaSaku, but I already know people love the Alternate!NaruHina pairing._

_**(1)** - I decided to a change in Yoshino's personality in this fic.  
**(2)** - I know, in the RtN preview Choji was still big boned, but hey this is my fanfic. _

_Please vote!_

_~SunshineSketch_

**Next Chapter:_ Carnations ~ Fascination_**


	4. Carnations

**_Hanakotoba no Kazukazu_**

_... The Many Meanings of Flowers_

_**x:x:x:x:x**_

_**Summary: **In which Sasuke Uchiha pursues a shy Yamanaka. A series prompted by Road to Ninja._

* * *

_**Carnations ~ ******__Fascination_

_"Ino!" The voice of Shiori Yamanaka, Ino's mother, sounded up the stairs._

_"Ha- Hai?!"_

_"There's a friend of yours downstairs!"_

_Speak of the devil, Ino couldn't hold back a giggle as she bounded for the stairs. That had to be either Sakura or Hinata right now, dropping by for either breakfast or to ask Ino to go shopping with them. "Sakura-chan!" With closed eyes, she gladly hugged the unknown figure that would most likely be fifty percent right. Even though she was the shyest being in Konoha, Ino could always hug her friends excitedly after so many years of knowing them._

_But the deep, sultry voice coming from the person she hugged, "Not quite."_

Ino's lit up into several different shades of red as she looked up from the noticeably harder chest. A chest that _definitely_ didn't belong to any of her two best friends. And the pale skin and raven black eyes were definitely a big clue to who it was wrapped in her arms.

Yep, you guessed it, it was Sasuke Uchiha in the flesh.

"!" Ino jumped away from the boy in hurry. "Uchiha-san, wh-what are you doing here!" She looked back and forth between him and her smiling mother, clearly wanting an explanation. Her mother was known for being a mischievous person. Playing small pranks on her friends and family here and there.

"Well, he said was a friend of yours sweetheart." Shiori said, with a small glint in her ocean blue eyes. "And I decided to invite him in."

The long haired blonde kept her rising blush from spreading on to her face as Sasuke started speaking. "I was going to walk you to work since I was going to be passing the Shop on my way to the Training Grounds. Seven o' clock sharp, you know how Kakashi-sensei is." Everybody did. Kakashi Hatake was very strict when it came to being on time. Very strict.

"O-oh um..." Ino folded her arms nervously, "I was actually planning on training with Choji-kun and Shikamaru-kun today..." That wasn't a lie, the afternoon before after her encounter with the Uchiha her rowdy teammates dropped by to tell her their plans for tomorrow. Apparently, Shikamaru was convinced he had a brilliant plan to improve their Ino-Shika-Cho Formation (which Choji AND Ino doubted) and wanted them all to meet the next day. So Ino had gotten up extra early to prepare them all lunches.

Sasuke studied her for a brief moment with his piercing eyes, "Which training grounds are you going to?"

"Number four." Training Ground number four was a usually popular site considering how many people could train there at once. A wide open space which would be a good place for a formation like the old, and traditional, Ino-Shika-Cho.

A smile spread across Sasuke's face, "Well, what do you know?" He said and Ino blinked confusingly. "We're going to be training at number five."

Ino tried not to frown. There would be no losing this one, she realized with a nonexistent sigh. She would have to let the determined boy walk her despite the fact she could do everything on her own.

And her mother definitely wasn't helping her out, "Splendid!" She said with a clap of her hands. "I already prepared your lunches, dear. So you can head off anytime you want now." That was Shiori Code for, You Had Better Get Out There and Make Meh Some Grandbabies. Since Shiori was no longer able to have children, she was intent on having more...

Through her daughter. So a suitor for her daughter made Shiori happy. (But she had no ideas of Sasuke's player ways which amazes everyone...)

"A-arigato, Mama." Ino accepted the three boxes tied together in a red cloth."I'll be back later on to help in the shop."

Shiori's childness melted away with an aura of seriousness, "Okay then. We got a new orders of roses sitting in the back this morning, I expect those stems to be de-thorned the next time I see them."

Ino nodded again and looked back at Sasuke, who happened to be looking expectantly back at her. "Are you ready to go now?"

And meekly, Ino said 'yes' as she slipped her shoes on at the door. "Bye, Mama!"

"Good bye, Ino!"

_**~ ; ~**_

_Is this how Uchiha-san's girlfriends feel when they walk next to him?_ Ino wondered with near tears swelling in her eyes as she partially hid behind Sasuke, trying to avoid the piercing glares from every girl she saw. Heck, even some of the women well-known as 'cougars' looked at Ino with some sort of envy as she walked side by side with the most wanted bachelor in Konoha. (Well, in TenTen's opinion Sasuke and her teammate Neji would be neck and neck if he wasn't such a pervert.)

"Don't let them bother you so much." Sasuke said without even looking at the frighten girl behind him. After all, every girl he'd ever been with reacted the same way at first. But in the thoughts of the young Uchiha as long as him and that specific girl are going out, she shouldn't care what the other girls thought or said. Sasuke was dating her, not them. It made perfect sense to him.

"Bu-but..." _They're so scary!_ It was definitely moments like this where she wished she was like her dream self. Dream!Ino in this situation would just stick her nose high in the air with pride and strut off with style. But I'm not my dream self.

Sasuke finally glanced down at her for the first time since they left the Yamanaka Compound. Ino was certainly different from all the other girls he'd dated with her shyness. She really needs to build up her confidence. And he wasn't the only one to say that, many of their other friends -mainly Hinata and Sakura- had thought so and told her bluntly to her face. It was... kind of fascinating. In a way.

Ino looked into Sasuke's eyes, "We're almost there right, Uchiha-san? I can walk on my own from now on."

The ravenette laughed lightly, something Dream!Sasuke never did, "You're kidding right?" He asked with an air of humor. "If I did that you'd be in the papers by tomorrow for coming up missing!" Ino gulped then looked back at the many, many glares she was receiving. Sasuke may have been joking, but the way his fans looked it was a pretty accurate joke. (A very accurate joke indeed, reader.)

"R-right." Ino agreed.

What in the world was she thinking when she agreed to walk with the boy most girls would kill for?! A death wish?

But if anything, Ino would just have to worry about a few people.

...

"SASUKE!" One of them being Hinata Hyuga, the most violent kunoichi who despised Sasuke with an absolute passion. And her pearl white gaze was directed at both her and You-Know-Who. "What are you doing with Ino."

Sasuke gave her a blank look, "I'm walking with Yamanaka-san obviously." He replied coolly. "We were both heading the same to the Training Grounds. She's going to number four, and I'm going to five." For a split second the two had a stare down, one gaze of anger another full of mystery. But Hinata ended it and pulled Ino beside her.

"I can do that." Translation: Watch yourself, Prettyboy. "Come on, Ino." And putting as much distance between them and Sasuke, Hinata finally stopped their somewhat jog and fixed Ino with that look. "What did we just talk about yesterday?!"

Ino flinched and looked down at her feet, "Mama let him in..." She said meekly. "And he was going to pass by number four grounds so..."

The blue haired girl sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, "That sounds like Shiori for sure alright." Shiori was always trying to get Ino a boyfriend, while Inoichi, Ino's dad, tried to avoid that subject as much as he could. How the woman did not hear about Sasuke's little tricks confounded her to no end. "So basically the guy's forcing himself on you?"

The blonde said nothing, Hinata already knew the answer. "Well then." She said. "I'll just have to double my guard. Stupid playboy doesn't know who he's messin' with." She grumbled under her breath.

* * *

"What happened to Shikamaru-kun?!" Ino exclamined at her teammate, Choji Akimichi, who looked as if he was experiencing a rather large headache. She had finally arrived at the Training Grounds she and her teammates were supposed to meet up at and... Shikamaru was grabbing his left foot in pain.

"The idiot somehow managed to Kagemane himself and broke his foot." Choji answered, one of his russet eyebrows twitching in irritation. Ino sweatdropped. That sounded like Shikamaru alright. Always managing to do something that other ninjas found impossible. Shikamaru Nara always found a way to make the IMpossible possible.

Shikamaru laughed nervously, "I was trying to demonstrate what I meant by awesome ninjutsu." He answered before Choji swatted his head. Sometimes, it was hard to believe that the two boys were best friends since they were all kids in the Academy. Their friendship was very... Abusive.

Ino sighed and gathered her chakra into the palms of her hands, "Oh, Shikamaru-kun." She placed her hands on his ankle and transferred her chakra throughout his injured area.

"Thanks, Ino." He said with a sheepish grin. "You're getting way better with your medical ninjutsu."

The Team Ten medic blushed, "Th-thanks. Sakura-chan helped me." Like Ino, Sakura was also a medic-nin. But she was a lot more violent towards her more idiotic patients. Which is why whenever Shikamaru went to check ups, he always preferred Ino or some other nurse to check him. "She's a really good medic."

Choji sat down beside the rest of friends, "I still say you're better, though." He relaxed his back against the tree behind him. "So any of you got any dates for the Spring Festival?"

The Konoha Spring Festival was always thrown sometime towards the end of Spring. There were yukatas and fun games and almost everybody had a date. Whether it be as just friends, romance, or an imaginary friend dates were very common during this occasion. Just like the Summer, Fall, Winter, and New Years Festival.

"Well," Shikamaru looked up at the sky and wrapped a hand around his chin. "I was thinking about asking Sakura-san."

That notion made both Ino and Choji perk up, "Sakura-chan/Haruno-san?" They both said in unison. That was quite the surprise.

Shikamaru had a slight blush on his cheeks and wrapped a hand around the back of his neck. "What?" He asked. "She's kinda cute when she isn't angry at me." Ino giggled; Shikamaru and Sakura would make an interesting couple if they ever turned out to be.

Choji gave Shikamaru a thumbs up, "You got my approval. You need someone intelligent." To which Shikamaru automatically replied with a 'What do you mean by that?!'.

"I'm supporting you, too Shikamaru-kun." Ino lifted her hands from Shikamaru's ankle. "What about you, Choji-kun?"

The Akimichi heir shrugged, "I was planning on going with our resident idiot, but..." His face scrunched up in thought. "I might ask that one girl, Takako. And you?"

Ino shook her head rapidly, "No dates!" She wouldn't be able to handle a date that wasn't any of her extremely good friends. But that most likely wouldn't happen. Hinata would definitely be preoccupied with asking Menma, and with Shikamaru planning on asking Sakura she was out too. "I'll just... stay home."

Choji and Shikamaru looked at each other and decided, telepathically, to change the subject. "Thanks for healing my foot, Ino!" Shikamaru moved it around to test it. "Feels brand new!"

The blonde girl waved a hand, "Anytime." She stood up and dusted invisible particles off her dress. "Are we still going to train today?"

Shikamaru stood up also, heaving Choji up with him. "You know it!"

_**~ ; ~**_

Even though Shikamaru's method didn't work, the training was intense(?) nonetheless. His idea was that while he possessed a shadow that Ino would do a 'Woo Pow' kick in midair and Choji would... Well you get it, the plan wasn't one of his smartest ideas. And now that training over Ino was on her way to the Yamanaka Flower Shop to dethorn the roses her mother ordered.

And now, with a slightly dirtied outfit Ino headed to her family's shop with no distractions. *cough* Sasuke *cough*. Which made the flower girl happy. She closed her eyes with a smile, which soon became a bad idea. Why, you ask reader? Because, she bumped right into someone. "Off! I am so sorry, Miste-"

Blue eyes met blue. "It's no big deal, Yamanaka-san."

"Me-Menma-san?"

* * *

_UPDATE NO JUTSU!  
__Well, I think this update was faster than usual and I hope you all enjoy the exciting(?) stuff that happened in this chapter And ShikaSaku mentions! ZOMG. And sorry this chapter was short, but if I went any longer it would break off into next chapter which I left a PREVIEW of. _

_Now down to business, when I looked through my reviews I saw that a couple of people thought it would be nice to infuse some slight MenmaIno into the story. And I agree, too. It sounds real interesting. __And in all truths, I was thinking about creating an HnK spinoff with the pairing being MenmaIno. Or instead of MenmaHina or MenmaSaku... This could be a SasuInoMenma fic? Love triangles! Whattaya say?_

_Also, I hope you all loved Shiori. She's a riot! I guess you could say Ino's mom in this story is the life of the party._

_Please vote!_

_~SunshineSketch_

**Next Chapter:_Geraniums ~_ Folly  
Preview: **"Hey, Yamanaka-chan..." The look in Menma's eyes just screamed mischief. But still Ino couldn't resist the way his sparkling blue eyes just pulled her in.  
"Yes, Menma-san?"


	5. Geraniums

**_Hanakotoba no Kazukazu_**

_... The Many Meanings of Flowers_

_**x:x:x:x:x**_

_**Summary: **__In which Sasuke Uchiha pursues a shy Yamanaka. A series prompted by Road to Ninja._

* * *

_**Geraniums ~ **_**_Folly_**

_Even though Shikamaru's method didn't work, the training was intense(?) nonetheless. His idea was that while he possessed a shadow that Ino would do a 'Woo Pow' kick in midair and Choji would... Well you get it, the plan wasn't one of his smartest ideas. And now that training over Ino was on her way to the Yamanaka Flower Shop to dethorn the roses her mother ordered._

_And now, with a slightly dirtied outfit Ino headed to her family's shop with no distractions. *cough* Sasuke *cough*. Which made the flower girl happy. She closed her eyes with a smile, which soon became a bad idea. Why, you ask reader? Because, she bumped right into someone. "Off! I am so sorry, Miste-"_

_Blue eyes met blue. "It's no big deal, Yamanaka-san."_

_"Me-Menma-san?"_

Lo and behold, it was Menma Namikaze, from his spiky blonde hair to his characteristic whisker-like birthmarks. The boy of Hinata Hyuga's affections... The boy that Hinata checked up on *cough* stalk *cough* whenever she could... Which meant... _If Hinata-chan sees me here with him she'll kill me!_ "Hey there." The boy grinned his famous 'Fox Grin' with a two fingered salute. "Whatcha doin' out at this time of day?"

_This time of day?_ It was only four-thirty in the afternoon! Ino silently reminded herself to tell Sakura to buy this boy a watch. "I'm heading over to my family's shop." She then remembered that Sasuke said that he was supposed to train with his team earlier on today. "Where are you coming from, Menma-san?"

Menma laughed nervously and scratched the back of his neck nervously -Gosh, did all boys in Konoha do this?-, "I kind of over slept when I was supposed to go train with Kakashi-sensei so now I'm hiding on the down low." He held a finger to his lips as if to emphasize what he meant.

Ino sweatdropped, that explained why his clothes were so clean instead of sweaty like hers. "Ah," she said, not thinking of anything better that she COULD say to the random nin. The boy was all over the place, but somehow with that scatterbrained mind of his he could conjure up thinks that were pretty smart! "S-sorry then."

"You won't tell, right?" Menma grabbed both her hands with his, causing Ino to blush all over! "C'mon Yamanaka-chan?! Please?"

If Hinata was here Ino would be skinned alive! "Me-Me-Menma-san!" She shouted, maybe just a little too loud. "I have to get to the shop..."

The taller boy's cerulean blue eyes twinkled, "You're brilliant!" He suddenly gave her a thumbs up in the Nice Guy pose. "I should hide at your shop! Sensei would never think to find me there, ya know?!" Menma pulled the girl forward. "Let's go then!"

And thus, Ino Yamanaka was thrown into the longest night in Konoha History which was dubbed, in her mind of course, The Night of Folly with Menma Namikaze. (Catch my chapter wordplay, reader?)

With her one visible eye, Ino stared at the orange-and-black clad shinobi's back, his spiky hair bouncing slightly as they ran. "Wh-where are we going, Menma-san? The shop's _that_ way!" She shouted as she finally realized which way they were heading. Forget Hinata, her mother would flip out in her Yamanaka fury is she thought Ino ditched her shift at work!

But still, the boy who felt no sadness only laughed, "Yeah, but you just trained, right?" He looked over at her for a couple of seconds. "Whoever heard of not eating after doing hard work?" Ino blinked, this boy who had basically (and obviously) forced her on a date was completely different from her pre-Academy crush. Sure, Sasuke _invited_ her to dinner, but Menma had done this in a completely light and fluffy(?) way.

It was... Different. But a good different in every way.

Finally after what seemed like forever the two stopped running. "So, Yamanaka-chan." Menma turned all the way around to face her. "Do you like Ichiraku Ramen?"

"Ichiraku?" Ino had been there several times, but she never really ate there. She usually found some kind of weird enjoyment in watching her teammates stuff themselves -especially Choji, that boy could eat the entire Hokage Monument and _still_ not gain a pound!-, and by then Ino's ramen was cold and soggy. No good at all. "No... Not really. A few times with Choji-kun and Shikamaru-kun but... I never really got to eat anything."

Menma stared at Ino as if she just screamed the Akatsuki were evil and wanted to destroy Konoha**(1)**. "How could you have lived in this village and never once in your life ate at old man Teuchi's place?" He shook her shoulders lightly. "We've got to fix this."

"Bu-but it's just ramen right?" Saying that to Menma was a mistake of big gargantuan proportions.

"..." Menma fixed her with a blank stare and his eyes narrowed.

Ino inched away nervously, "Menma-san...?" A large hand grabbed her wrist, preventing her from moving away any further.

"Operation: Cure Yamanaka-chan COMMENCE!" As if he were only hauling a bag of marshmallows, Menma hoisted her up in his arms bridal style and Ino's face was an interesting shade of red that we don't even have a name for. With the energy of a newly produced rasengan, Menma dashed towards his most favorite restaurant in the world.

"Ahh!" The shy one between the two blondes let out a small shriek as the bolder blonde dashed madly through the streets of Konoha. _Isn't this what..._ Ino, red faced, looked up at her energetic captor. _What couples do?_ But the two blondes were far from being a couple. Not only was Hinata a constant block in that possibility, but Ino was way too shy to date anyone.

Let alone a person like Menma.

_Not that I want to be his girlfriend though!_ Ino thought with a small spout of stubbornness. Hinata had liked Menma way before Ino knew the two of them existed, and when the inseparable kunoichi trio became friends rule number one was absolute. _Never go for another friends guy._ (Especially when that guy was called by Hinata. But Sakura and Ino made that their little secret joke.)

_But still..._ Ino looked back up at the wide grin Menma sported. _He does look kinda cool..._

Menma skidded to a stop. "Here we are, Yamanaka-chan." He placed her down on solid ground. "The best place to catch up on some grub after a hard day's work."

"Welcome to Ichiraku's!" Ayame, the daughter of the shops owner said with her usual spiced up voice. Recently she had cut her hair into a cute pixie cut and died several red streaks into it. Like Hinata, Ayame was pretty saucy (who says that anymore?) and had a sharp tongue. But nonetheless, Menma stilled referred to her as Ayame-nee. "Oh, it's just you Menma."

Said boy feigned a look of hurt and did 'The Hurt', a famous Ninja Jackson**(2)** move in which you slammed your hand over your heart and said: "Ow!" He chuckled. "You're as cold as ever, Ayame-nee."

Ayame winked and stuck out her tongue, "You know it, kohai." She looked over to the cooking area where her father, Old Man Teuchi was. "Pops! Our regular is here!"

"Eh?!" Seconds later after Ayame's announcement a huge man with an eyepatch over his right eye and a scarred, ragged face appeared from the back. "Menma you say? You back for more boy?"

Menma gave a peace sign, "Yo!" He shook his head afterward. "For once I'm actually on a mission. This girl needs one bowl of Teuchi's Special Miso Ramen on the double!"

Ino bowed quickly, "H-how do you do?"

"Oh..." Ayame was the one who spoke up. "You're the one who always comes here and wastes our ramen!" She said angrily and to Ino's dismay she heard something cracking, and unfortunately in this case it wasn't the roof.

"I-I'm sorry!" She practically had her forehead pressed up against the counter at this point, but felt her upper body direct back up at everyone. Teuchi's old and gnarled hands on her shoulders.

Teuchi had a crusty smile on his face, "Calm down now, daughter." He said, but Ayame still had on an irritated look. "If Menma says this girl needs miso ramen then this girl needs miso ramen." His head turned over to Menma as if to say: And you?

"I'll take that new pork ramen you were talkin' about!" And with that, the 'ramen ninjas' excluded themselves from the young, budding 'couple' and went to prepare their meals...

... And Ino did not know what to do in this situation. _I knew this was a bad idea!_ Then again, she was forced into this endeavor by the boy sitting her to her left. But it wouldn't look that way to a certain bluenette Ino knew of. Besides, what would she have to say to him?! 'Do you ever dream about being a different you other than you'? That sounded ridiculous even to her ears!

"Hey Yamanaka-chan, you ever wonder if there's another world out there?" Which is why she was completely surprised when he said that. "You know, like everything and everyone there we know is different?"

Once again, Ino was speechless. Was this boy reading her mind? "What?"

Menma continued on, "I know it sounds weird but, I have dreams like that, ya know." He slouched over the counter, propping his chin on his wrists. "Like Ma and Dad are gone, and Sasuke betraying the village... And even a super smart Shikamaru though you definitely don't believe that one." He sighed."You probably think I'm crazy."

"No! No! Not all!" She waved her hands as she shook her head. "Me too! I always thought it was just me because it's so weird."

"Really?" Menma raised an eyebrow at her then smiled. "Cool! It's so crazy! I never ever thought there would ever be a big boobied Tsunade!"

Ino couldn't help but get excited too. She never discussed her dreams with anyone else. But here she was talking to a kindred spirit. "And I never thought I would ever see something as weird as Shino-san liking bugs or Kiba-san liking dogs."

The Orange Ninja laughed, "Right?" Then his face lit up with another thing to say. "And my dream self is so..."

_Shikamaru-kun like?_ Ino thought to herself, but of course she was wrong.

"Awesome!" His eyes twinkled like a thousand stars. "I took Kiba down in the chunin exams!" Ino remembered dreaming that too. And truth be told, Menma really did beat Kiba in the exams. Was the method unorthodox in every freaking way? Absolutely. But he still won. "And you..."

The Yamanaka girl laughed nervously, "Yeah..." She murmured. "I'm a little different."

"A little?" Menma echoed the thoughts running through Ino's mind. "Just more than a little! You looked really pretty with your hair up. Well, not that you don't look pretty with your hair down but still."

Ino blocked everything out after that comment. Did Hinata's crush just tell her he thought SHE was pretty?! What a night this was turning out to be. "Ah!" Menma exclaimed. "Ramen's here. Thanks, Old Man." Excitedly, the Orange nin ripped is chopsticks a part but then suddenly he stopped. "Wait, not till Yamanaka-chan eats first."

Teuchi nodded, "He's right girl." He grinned and gave a wheazy laugh. "You ain't gettin' away from us this time." As if to prove a point, Ayame shoved Ino's chopsticks into her hands with a glare.

These people were extremely serious about this, and they were _not_ going to let Ino go so easily.

So with a couple of beads of sweat from the pressure, Ino broke her chopsticks also... Put them in the large ramen bowl... Lifted a few strings of noodely substances to her lips and... (GET ON WITH IT!) Finally slurped them down.

"..."

...

Menma watched Ino anxiously when she didn't say anything. He knew that first timers to Teuchi's ramen would be stunned, but this reaction was just outstanding! It was like Ino gave up her face for a noh mask! "Ya-Yamanaka-chan you o-"

"Amazing."

"Huh?"

Ino turned over to look at Menma with a serious gaze. "Menma-san, this ramen is amazing!" Menma blinked for a moment, then he bursted out laughing.

He winked at the shop owner, "You still got it, Old Man!"

Teuchi gave both Menma and Ino a thumbs up, "Dang straight I do, boy!" He gave them a nod. "Now enjoy my master pieces."

"Alright!"

_**Twelve and a Half Bowls Later...**_

Ino had seen some pretty big eaters in her life. Well, one to be precise, and that boy was Choji Akimichi of the Akimichi Clan, an entire clan of big eaters. And never once before in Ino's life had she ever seen _anyone_ match up to Choji. Not until this day, when Menma Namikaze proved her wrong. _This boy,_ Ino thought within the deep traces of her mind. _This boy is truly something!_

"Ahh~~" Menma patted his stomach with both his hands. The bill was payed, the ramen was great, and he was completely satisfied. "That was so good! Right, Yamanaka-chan?"

"Hai." And Ino meant it. That was some of the best ramen she had ever tasted! She had two bowls so far since they started their little adventure at Ichiraku Ramen. "Thank you so much, Ichiraku-san."

Teuchi just smirked, "Just call me 'Gramps'."

The air here was warm and kind and family-like. Ino could see why Menma loved coming here so much. It wasn't just the ramen, it was the kindness of the shop owner and his daughter that kept him coming back. Even Ayame had a crooked grin of peace on her face. "Arigato, Jii-chan, I'll come back again."

"And you had better eat again." Ayame joked, and Ino nodded with a laugh.

Menma added in a chuckle, but then one of his eyes caught something gray and masked and he gulped in terror. It was his sensei, Kakashi Hatake, and he was undoubtedly looking for a certain ninja that looked like his former sensei, Minato Namikaze. _Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap!_ He glanced over at Ino. If Kakashi were to come here, Ino would most likely give him out under pressure. So there was only one option left for him, and for her.

"Hey, Yamanaka-chan..." Ino looked over at the boy and instantly flinched. The look in Menma's eyes just screamed mischief. But still... Ino couldn't resist the way his sparkling blue eyes just pulled her in.

"Yes, Menma-san?" (Cue the Music: Ordinary Day, Vanessa Carlton.)  
_Just a day,_  
_Just an ordinary day._  
_Just trying to get by._  
_Just a boy,_  
_Just an ordinary boy._  
_But he was looking to the sky_.

He reached his hand out towards her, "Let's run."  
_And as he asked if I would come along_  
_I started to realize..._

Ino looked at the boy strangely, "Huh? Why?" This boy was most definitely crazy. But he just grinned.

"It's gonna be an adventure."  
_That everyday he finds_  
_Just what he's looking for,_  
_Like a shooting star he shines.  
And he said,_

"Come on, let's do this." He said once more, his hand still out stretched to her. And hesitantly, Ino reached for it while he said to the Ichiraku family: "Later, guys. Be back soon."  
_Take my hand,_  
_Live while you can_  
_Don't you see your dreams lie right in the palm of your hand_

And with a cheeky grin, Ino Yamanaka and the boy know as the self proclaimed Orange Hokage ran off into the dead night of Konoha.  
_In the palm of your hand..._

* * *

It was peaceful and quiet as Ino and Menma walked together on the grounds of the Yamanaka Compound. After about twenty to thirty minutes of running around Konoha together, Menma had given himself the mission to walk Ino safely home. And now, they walked quietly with their hands finally to themselves it seemed to Ino.

Finally the two of them reached Ino's home. "Th-thank you for walking me home, Menma-san."

"Menma."

Ino said for what seemed to be the trillionth time, "Huh?"

"Just call me Menma," Even in the nighttime sky, Ino could still his blue eyes shining. "No -san at the end."

The female blonde paused for a moment. "Menma-kun?"

Menma nodded and ruffled the top of hair, "And I'll call you Ino-chan."

Though it wasn't a question Ino smiled and nodded, "Hai." She cracked open her door. "Good night, Menma-kun."

"Later, Ino-chan."

_**~ ; ~**_

"You won't believe what happened."

Once again, it was around the time Sakura and Hinata came to visit Ino at the Yamanaka Flower Shop. Shiori and Inoichi had both been mad Ino hadn't shown up to work, but they were glad nothing had happened to the girl. And after Ino had accidently let it slip that she had an outing with Menma last night, Shiori was over joyed while Inoichi fainted.

So now, a couple of days later -the day after Ino and Menma's date Shiori was too busy making Ino plan her wedding bouquet...- Ino was able to stand and dethorn those roses.

"What, Sakura-chan?" Ino looked over at Sakura who was helping her dethorn the roses, Hinata was too.

Sakura's face grew pink with a blush, "... the Spring Festival..."

Hinata raised an eyebrow with a look of annoyance, "Come on, speak up." Ino looked briefly at Hinata, she seemed kind of different. In fact, But when Sakura opened her mouth she pointed her gaze back at the rose haired kunoichi.

"The other day Shikamaru-baka asked me to the Spring Festival!" She shouted a little too loudly, and her face turned a darker shade of pink. As pink as a dark pink carnation the florist in Ino said.

Ino smiled, "Shikamaru-kun did it!" She set down her knife and grabbed Sakura's hands. "I'm so glad! Aren't you, Hinata-chan?"

But Hinata didn't say anything, instead her head lowered till the point her bangs covered her bangs. "Hinata-chan...?"

The lipstick wearing girl finally looked up, angrily and with a fake anger-filled smile. "You two won't believe what _I_ saw the other night." She said spitefully as her lavender pearl gaze redirected to Ino. "Guess who I saw with Menma?"

Ino's smile fell. She knew.

* * *

_UPDATE NO JUTSU!__  
Once again, I the lovely (LOLZ I wish) SunshineSketch, has presented you with another Florally named chapter in the story of Hanakotoba no Kazukazu. And if you guys liked this chapter, as you can see with the preview, the next chapter will be a doozy! And for those of you who have been on my profile, you'll see I took the poll down. I decided an Ino love triangle was JUST what the doctor ordered. (So you can all have fun with guessing who Ino ends up with 8D)_

_And within doing my calculations, this story should be finished within five more chapters or less if all of them are longer. So wish me all luck and I hope those who have reviewed so far stick with me to the end!_

_Also... I was thinking about making some more Road to Ninja fics after this. Like a small series of different fics and pairings.  
__**Next up:**__ AU!ShikaSaku story. I'm most likely gonna make this a spinoff of HnK that takes place of this SasuInoMenma swindle, but with Sakura and Shikamaru as the main pairing._

_So just tell me what pairings you'd like me to write about by either PM or Review._

**(1)**_ - TeeHee. Sound familiar anyone?  
__**(2) -**__ Yeah, I think it's obvious where I got that one. In this world, Ninja Jackson is a famous singer/actor who really isn't a ninja. It just sounded cool on him.  
__**To Sparkle:**__ The reason Menma's hair is black is 'cause he fused with Tobi/Obito/Madara_

_~SunshineSketch_

**Next Chapter:****_ Petunias ~ Anger  
Preview: _**"I thought we were friends!" Hinata yelled, her Byakugan fully activated. Something she had never done to Ino before. Not even when they trained together.


	6. Petunias

**_Hanakotoba no Kazukazu_**

_... The Many Meanings of Flowers_

_**x:x:x:x:x**_

_**Summary: **__In which Sasuke Uchiha pursues a shy Yamanaka. A series prompted by Road to Ninja._

* * *

_**Petunias ~ **_**_Anger_**

_Ino smiled, "Shikamaru-kun did it!" She set down her knife and grabbed Sakura's hands. "I'm so glad! Aren't you, Hinata-chan?"_

_But Hinata didn't say anything, instead her head lowered till the point her bangs covered her bangs. "Hinata-chan...?"_

_The lipstick wearing girl finally looked up, angrily and with a fake anger-filled smile. "You two won't believe what I saw the other night." She said spitefully as her lavender pearl gaze redirected to Ino. "Guess who I saw with Menma?"_

_Ino's smile fell. She knew._

"Hi-Hinata-chan..." Ino let go of Sakura's hands as she stared full frontal at the girl who would send her to hell. (Not literally, reader, but as we all know Hinata had the power to make it feel as if it had happened in the first place.) "I-"

Hinata didn't give Ino the chance to finish her sentence,"I thought we were friends!" Hinata yelled, her Byakugan fully activated. Something she had never done to Ino before. Not even when they trained together. "Whatever happened to the rules we set, huh?! And then I see you waltzing around with Menma as if you owned the guy!"

Sakura stood in between the line of fire, her hands that could crush mountains lifted up defensively. "Hinata, what are you talking about?" She sweated a little. Knowing how agressive Hinata was she wouldn't hesitate to cause an all out brawl in the shop. And with two strong kunoichi fighting at there all would be great trouble to Konoha, and to her as Tsunade Senju's apprentice.

Hinata rammed forward towards Sakura, "This man stealing pig was on a date with Menma last night!" She glared over Sakura's shoulder at Ino. Her eyes screamed 'Finish Him' (Mortal Combat anybody?). "You already have Sasuke pining after you don't you?! So what makes you think you can just swoop in on the guy I like?!"

The Haruno girl used her strength to prevent Hinata from trying to punch the blonde out Ino's hair, "Hinata! Calm down!" Her green eyes filled with concern stared back at the Yamanaka girl. "I'm sure Ino has an explanation for this. We've been friends since muck and high water so don't let some guy ruin that!"

_"She broke the rules!"_ Hinata screeched and then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes were brimming with tears, something Hinata never did. Not ever. Not when her cat died or not during the Chunin Exams. But here she was, near her breaking point all because of Ino and Menma's 'date'. "You all know how I feel about Menma... You all know that..." Her voice broke into whimpered mumblings as she lowered her head.

Ino stepped around Sakura, tears of her own in her eyes. "Hinata-chan, I'm so sorry..." She reached out to hug her but Hinata swiftly slapped her arms away.

Piercing Byakugan eyes penetrated Ino's soul. Those same eyes she seen shining with happiness for years.

_"Hey guys."_

_"Guys, you won't believe this!"_

_"Ino! Be more confident about yourself geez!"_

_"Oh gosh! Look, there goes Menma!"_

Those same pearl colored eyes. "Don't touch me, traitor." Hinata whispered and she dashed out the door quicker than the many times she beat up her cousin.

Ino stood still, while Sakura looked at her. Unsure if she should run after the heartbroken Hinata, or the proclaimed 'traitor' Ino. "Ino..." The rosette finally said at last. "I need you tell me what's going on."

"I..." The tears poured. "I reckon I just made our best friend cry, Sakura-chan."

_**~ ; ~**_

Sakura nodded thoughtfully, "I see..." Just mere seconds ago, Ino finished telling Sakura about her and Menma's 'date'. "So it was all just a misunderstanding."

"Uh huh." Ino nodded also but in agreement. After she had finally stopped crying into Sakura's shoulder, the pinkette made some tea and sat them both at the table and Ino commenced in the retelling of her Day of Folly with Menma. It was a long story and hard to get off her chest because of the guilt consuming her, but she got it out nonetheless. Besides, Sakura wouldn't let her off the hook unless she told her everything. "But Hinata-chan wouldn't let me explain..."

"Yeah," Sakura gritted her teeth in frustration. "It'll probably be like pulling teeth to explain this all to her."

Hinata Hyuga was a stubborn and iron wall. When she was done with you, she was done. Oh well, you'd have to get over it. When she was angry, you could always count on her to hold a very long grudge against you. And right now she was so angry, it felt like someone had just sent a dozen petunias to Ino's door. And in the language of flowers, the most popular meaning for the petunia meant anger and resentment.

Hinata had plenty of both of those feelings built towards Ino.

Sakura placed a hand of reassurance on Ino's shoulder, "Don't worry, Ino-pig." It had been a long time since Ino had heard that nickname said from anyones lips. Hinata and Sakura usually said that when Ino was being a fuddy duddy of complete low self-esteem. "Everything'll be alright."

But Ino didn't feel as if it would be alright. Not one bit. Sakura stood up, "Now I'm gonna go find Hinata." She said as she took off the apron she borrowed from Ino's mother. "You should... Go get a breather, too. Alright. I'll see you in a while."

At this rate, a breather seemed impossible to the intricate mind of the Yamanaka girl. The mind was a very delicate thing in the Yamanaka Clan, and Ino could see why. Her mind ached heavily.

_*Ding~*_

But apparently, her self-pitying time would have to take place later, she thought as she plastered a genuine fake smile on her face. "Hello, welcome to Yamanaka Flowers! How may I help you?"

"You've really been quite popular these days, haven't you Yamanaka?"

Ino opened her eyes in shock. She knew that voice. The voice of the tormentor she had until the day Hinata and Sakura saved her. That's right reader, it was her... Nadeshiko Katagiri, daughter of the rival flower shop near Sasuke's Clan's Compound. She was looking beautiful, as she usually did for Sasuke. Her long dark purple hair was pulled back into a neat bun at the base of her neck, decorated with a lily (modeled after the wonderful Konan-sama) and her blue eyes were icy cold. And whattaya know, reader, the girl finally grew into her nose.

Ino was dumbsruck and speechless, but Nadeshiko continued on with her evaluations. "And I see your business is flourishing, too." She welcomed herself to some of the displayed flowers Shiori and Inochi had set up earlier. "I don't see why though. _Our_ shop has way better arrangments and bouquets. In fact, a nice civilian lady even came by to our shop to make arrangements and a floral cake for her wedding."

Our story's heroine finally blinked, "O-oh. Congratulations, Katagiri-san." Ino finally said after her moment of surprised finally passed, though the shock still remained. The two girls hardly ever, no scratch that. The two girls _never_ talked ever since the day Ino became the best friend to the toughest girls in their class. It would've been suicide to talk pick on Ino at that point.

And finally, after years Nadeshiko had Ino cornered.

"But that's not what I'm here to talk about." Nadeshiko said, her icy stare looking Ino dead in the face. "I'm pretty sure you do though, right?" The kimono-clad girl picked up one of the knives Ino and co. were using to dethorn the roses. (Yes reader, Nadeshiko just stepped all over Ino's turf.) And uncharacteristically, she picked up a rose and started to chip off every thorn she saw.

Ino gulped, "I'm afraid I don't Katagiri-san..."

Nadeshiko looked at Ino harshly, "Oh sure you don't." She said with a humorless laugh. "I know for a fact I saw you walking with Sasuke-kun the other day. Ami and Yuki saw that, too. And then..." Next rose. "You had the nerve to go out on a date with Menma Namikaze on the same day you two timing weasel!" She snarled as she directed the knife tip to Ino's face.

"Who do you think you are?" The girl hissed. "Stealing my boyfriend from me then going after his annoying best friend."

"N-no! It's wasn't like that!" But that was just a cry on deaf ears.

The purple haired kunoichi only chuckled darkly, "Oh really?" She said disbelievingly. "But you and Menma seemed so happy wouldn't you say? And everyone knows that when Sasuke likes someone he _will_ pursue them." Nadeshiko moved a strand of her off her face. "So unless my equations are wrong you have a lot of explaining to do, Ino Yamanaka."

* * *

_UPDATE NO JUTSU!__  
Alright, I'll be honest, I wasn't planning on updating so soon. Maybe in a few days, but [TrueGaaraRose]'s review/plea for another chapter moved me so much I decided to get to work early. So this chapter's dedicated to you, girl/boy! And yes, another short one but this story bounces back and forth between both long and short. Some chapters are straight to the point, like this one, and others build up to yet another cliffhanger I know you abhor._

_And woah 69 reviews on a story with only six chapters! You guys are amazing! You all fuel my Flames of Youth, but don't worry, I won't go running towards you all like Might Guy._

_So thanks for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting._

_Also, what did you guys think about Nadeshiko? Love her? Hate her? Tell me what you think!_

_~SunshineSketch_

**Next Chapter:****_ Marigolds ~ Grief  
Preview: _**Ino stared at the bucket of marigolds in the green house and felt the tears welling up inside her. Marigolds were flowers that represented sadness, grief, and cruelty. And right now, Ino was feeling everyone of those emotions.


	7. Marigolds

**_Hanakotoba no Kazukazu_**

_... The Many Meanings of Flowers_

_**x:x:x:x:x**_

_**Summary: **In which Sasuke Uchiha pursues a shy Yamanaka. A series prompted by Road to Ninja._

* * *

_**Marigolds ~ ******__Grief_

_"Who do you think you are?" The girl hissed. "Stealing my boyfriend from me then going after his annoying best friend."_

_"N-no! It's wasn't like that!" But that was just a cry on deaf ears._

_The purple haired kunoichi only chuckled darkly, "Oh really?" She said disbelievingly. "But you and Menma seemed so happy wouldn't you say? And everyone knows that when Sasuke likes someone he will pursue them." Nadeshiko moved a strand of her off her face. "So unless my equations are wrong you have a lot of explaining to do, Ino Yamanaka."_

Hinata Hyuga was angry. No, scratched that one off. She was on a whole new leveled scaled of angry; she was livid. Anyone could see that as the hot tempered kunoichi stomped angrily through the streets of Konoha. People flinching as the blue haired girl walked by, it was as if the Demon Lord had risen himself.

But Hinata payed them no mind. She only one destination in mind, or to be exact... One boy. Menma Namikaze. Her, at this point, onesided crush since the day she met him.

_**Flashback...**_

_Hinata grinned as she checked her reflection out in the mirror. This outfit was sure to grab Menma's attention. It was a red kimono-like garb with two long splits on the sides. _If Menma doesn't like this, then my name isn't Hinata Hyuga! _"Alright then, it's decided." She muttered to herself, her pearl white eyes burning with determination. "I'll buy it!"_

_It might of seemed strange that she was talking to herself in public. But Hinata didn't care, if anyone said anything she'd kick their butts right here and now in the middle of shop if she had to. Which she probably wouldn't. Everyone knew that out of all the Hyugas, you most _definitely_ didn't want to mess with Hinata. The girl had the temper to match their flat-chested Hokage, Tsunade of the Senju Clan._

_(But luckily Hinata didn't have the matched strength...)_

_"Hey," She called out to the lady at the cash register. "I'll buy this dress!" Hinata smirked at her reflection one more time. One look at looking at this and Menma would finally ask her out to a date to his favorite restaurant: Ichiraku Ramen. It'll be amazing. So amazing it would have to be slndered onto the pages of Konoha history._

_"Okay, Miss." The woman said. "That'll be 3,000 yen then."_

_Th blue haired girl walked over to her favorite jacket to grab her jacket, but a flash of blonde caught her eye. Something orange, black, and blonde. It was Menma! Hinata looked up with smirk to catch her future husband dash in front of her very eyes. Her smirk fell._

_It wasn't just Menma. It was Menma and her best friend... _

Ino?

**_End Flashback_**

"Hinata?"

And there he was, Menma Namikaze, blonde hair and blue eyes and in the flesh. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"No," Hinata said. "I'm not okay." Hinata Hyuga was a strong young woman, dang right she was. She never allowed her emotions to over rule her, make her quiet or speechless. She wasn't shy like Ino, she wasn't going to start now. "Did you have a nice time with _Ino_ last night?" She hissed angrily.

But Menma gave the most surprising reaction.

He didn't flinch away like most people would. Another reason why Hinata loved the bold ninja so much. He didn't fear her or want to befriend her because she was a Hyuga. Menma just blinked calmly and said, "I'm sorry."

Hinata could only feel her heart stop in shock. So this entire time... "You knew?"

_Lie, say you didn't._ Hinata begged inwardly.

But, of course, the Hyuga girl didn't get her wish. "I did. You didn't make it unclear whether or not you liked me, you know." Menma answered. "I always knew you liked me, I'm not a dunce like the me in my dreams. But I only liked you as a friend..."

If Hinata was angry before, this time she felt like a volcano ready to erupt. "So this entire time you knew?!" She shouted, probably gaining the attention of everyone around them. But who cared? Let 'em watch this scene unfold. "So why didn't you say anything?!"

Menma sighed, "You should I tell you something like that when you never told me in the first place?" He wrapped his hand around her wrist and pulled her slightly closer to him. "I wanted to give you the chance before I said anything."

Before he said anything? Hinata felt a small slither of hope, did this mean? "I'm sorry." He repeated. "I just don't see you as anything more than a friend. A good friend."

That was it then. "Then who? Sakura?" The blue haired girl gritted her teeth as her bangs covered her eyes. She awaited the response to guess she just gave, but deep down she knew the actual answer.

She heard Menma sigh, "I've always had a crush on Ino." Hinata heard him say. "Even when we little kids. I've always had an eye out for the shy blonde girl who helped her parents out at a flower shop."

At the moment, life to Hinata Hyuga was over.

* * *

Ino Yamanaka was in a serious pickle as she took a step back away from the crazed girl known as Nadeshiko Katagiri, Sasuke Uchiha's most recent ex-girlfriend. (I get the feeling a lot you readers don't like her.) Just a few seconds ago the kimono clad, purple haired female came inside the Yamanaka Flower Shop thirsting for blood. Which was where we last left off. "Ka-Katagiri-san, I-"

But once again before Ino could say anything, she was cut off by an angry kunoichi blinded by love and jealousy. "What do you think you're better than us because you have two gorgeous bachelors trailing after you?!" Nadeshiko shouted. "Don't make me laugh. You may be older and have a new look, but you're still just plain ole Crybaby Ino to me." She sniggered.

"Right?" She asked, moving the large bang over Ino's right side of her face to reveal a matching blue orb to the one on her left. "So don't just think that because you hang around Sakura and Hinata that you're all tough now."

With a a twisted smile, Nadeshiko set the cutting knife back on the table and flounced out the shop.

Placing a hand over her heart, Ino slid back against the wall panting heavily. The encounter with her old tormentor and the incident with Hinata had torn her up in so many ways mentally. Gulping, the botanist of a medical nin looked over to her left in the direction of the green house. There were many plants and flowers there. Beautiful flowers, and helpful herbs all in all.

But there were was one in particular batch of flowers that caught in Ino's eyes; Marigolds. Ino stared at the bucket of marigolds in the green house and felt the tears welling up inside her. Marigolds were flowers that represented sadness, grief, and cruelty. And right now, Ino was feeling everyone of those emotions. And just like how she used to when she was a little girl, Ino placed her hands over eyes and wept.

"Ino?" A masculine voice rang out. _Oh not now..._ "Ino are you in here? I just saw Nadeshiko storm out like a madwoman." It was Sasuke Uchiha, one of the boys that had started the drama in Ino's life.

_Please,_ Ino wanted to say. _Please just go away and leave me alone!_ But the words stayed lumped up in her throat and refused to budge out.

Sasuke's voice sounded closer this time, "Ino?" Rough, yet somehow soft hands were placed atop hers and pulled them off her face. And met Sasuke's concerned, dark eyes. "What happened?"

"U-Uchiha-san..." Ino choked out over the sob that she held back.

"What happened?" Sasuke repeated, a little more firmly this time. You could always count on Sasuke to be a little resilient and harsh on moments like these, but right now, Ino wasn't picky at all in this case of company. And Ino quickly wrapped her arms around the boy and weeped and weeped all over Sasuke's (new) shirt.

_**~ ; ~**_

It took longer than Sasuke thought for Ino's eyes to stop producing tears, but when she stopped he held back a sigh a relief. Handling crying girls were not his specialty, so all Ino's tears didn't make him feel any better. "So..." He started unsurely. "... Are you feeling better now?"

Ino nodded, "Y-yeah..." She took a sip of the tea she made a few moments ago. "Th-thank you for comforting me, Uchiha-san..."

Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly, "It's nothing big." He said. "And don't worry about Nadeshiko, alright? She's my problem, not yours. So if she says or does anything, just let me know and I'll take care of it. So what happened? Tell me everything alright."

And so, Ino reembarked on her tale from the beginning. A less detailed version of her 'date' with Menma Namikaze, her fight with Hinata Hyuga, and then finished with her encounter with Nadeshiko Katagiri.

It was quiet again. "Menma, huh?" Sasuke said at last. I see... Sasuke said inwardly to himself. _So Menma is finally_ _starting to make his moves, huh_? It was no secret to Sasuke, Memna Namikaze's best friend, that Menma had a long time crush on Ino. And to anyone who knew Sasuke knew this information, they would most likely say he was cruel.

Who in the world would pursue their best friend's crush? Sasuke knew a lot of people who did that, and in his mind, if Menma wasn't going to do anything anytime soon... Sasuke would just have to do it for him. Sure, Sasuke did admit that he found Ino cuter than most.

Well, she did tie with a couple others. Ino, Sakura, and Hinata were definitely in his top ten beautiful girls list. He just preferred more outgoing girls to date, and less violent ones. And there was also the fact that it seemed as if Sakura had a small thing for Ino's dumb teammate, Shikamaru Nara, so he just let her alone.

So to make it as simple as possible, Sasuke was in a crossroads here. Here he was with a perfect, girlfriend material girl in front of him and yet... He already had a rival for her affections.

The raven haired boy sighed, "So are you two a couple now or something?"

Ino sputtered with a blush, "N-no! Of course not, Menma-kun and I-" Ino stopped talking and looked down at her tea. Just what _was_ Menma to her? She most definitely thought he was attractive, and she did have a great time with him the other night. But it wasn't as if they were girlfriend-boyfriend now or anything.

After all, the two shinobi hardly ever interacted with one another.

While Ino was wrapped up in thought, Sasuke closed his eyes and shook his head lightly. It was pretty obvious what the answer was.

Ino Yamanaka _was_ telling the truth, but it was also obvious that their nightly excursion had caused her to think about Menma more than she already did. Even now, while she was sad and hurt, the simple mentioning of Menma caused her spirits to lift slightly with a smile on her face. Or maybe there was no smile, and just a blush.

Ahh, Sasuke didn't really care anymore. Back to the subject at hand, "Well while you're here, I'll go handle things with Nadeshiko." The number one heartthrob of Konoha stood up and placed a hand on Ino's blonde head. "So don't worry about it." He turned around and gave a two-fingered salute.

The bell jingled as he opened the door, "Later."

Ino looked down at the cup in her hands once more. Sasuke had left so quickly she didn't get even get the chance to say goodbye. Was he angry at her and Menma? Or did he really want to go settle thing with ex-girlfriend. She sighed and stood up. _The shop is gonna be back in action now that break is about to be over..._ Ino looked at the clock on the wall. _I better go change the sign now._

But before she could even reach the door, the bell jingled already. "Hey there, Ino-chan!"

* * *

_UPDATE NO JUTSU!  
__Sorry, it took me so longer to update than usual. But I was busy training with my martial arts teacher Rodney. Yeah, that's right! I got a life outside writing fanfiction!_

_Inner Sunshine: Yeah, right...  
Me: Shut up you!_

_Welp, here you guys go with the seventh installment of Hanakotoba no Kazukazu! Crap! Chapter seven? That means the story's gonna end soon, nooooo! Oh well, the journey's gotta end eventually. Anyways, I've really been in the Durarara! feels lately. Whattaya guys say to a Durarara fanfic, eh?_

_And wow, whattaya know. This story really drifted off from what I originally intended it to be. I had intended for this pic to be an RtN based SasuIno pairing, but instead it's starting to dwindle into a little love triangle. Whoa! Look at me go!_

_~SunshineSketch_

**Next Chapter:_ Eucalyptus ~ Protection  
Preview: _**Lying there in that moment, Ino felt at ease. So safe. As if even if the world were to end right now... As long as she stayed wrapped in those arms that wouldn't matter.


	8. Eucalyptus

**_Hanakotoba no Kazukazu_**

_... The Many Meanings of Flowers_

_**x:x:x:x:x**_

_**Summary: **In which Sasuke Uchiha pursues a shy Yamanaka. A series prompted by Road to Ninja._

* * *

_********__Eucalyptus ~ Protection_

_Ino looked down at the cup in her hands once more. Sasuke had left so quickly she didn't get even get the chance to say goodbye. Was he angry at her and Menma? Or did he really want to go settle thing with ex-girlfriend. She sighed and stood up. The shop is gonna be back in action now that break is about to be over... Ino looked at the clock on the wall. I better go change the sign now._

_But before she could even reach the door, the bell jingled already. "Hey there, Ino-chan!"_

It didn't even take Ino a minute to guess who had just barged through the door of her family's shop. It was the one and only Menma Namikaze, the boy at the root of the entire situation she was in. Because of what happened with this boy, Ino was most likely going to lose one of her very best friends in the whole world!

"Menma-kun..." Ino began unsurely. She had _just_ got done with her teary run-in with Sauke, she didn't know if she could handle a run-in with the hyperactive blonde ninja. "I'm sorry but the shop is closed right now but if you wait a while you can start ordering some flowers." She said with her "customer smile" on her face.

She could do this. She could be strong just like her confident, alternate self. Alternate-Ino could handle anything that was thrown at her. Whether it be evil ninjas or deathly bloody patients.

Menma tilted his head chidishly, and crossed his arms. "Huh?" He whined obnoxiously. "I didn't come for flowers! I came to see Ino-chan!"

Ino blinked. "You came to see me?" She felt awkward for a moment. She was used for her teammates to stop by to see her, or Sakura and Hinata. But never anyone other than them. (Well there was the time Neji "dropped in to say hi" but she'd rather forget that day.) "Really."

"Yeah," Menma grinned and placed both his hands at the base of his neck. "You see, my parents wanted to meet you after I told them why I was late for dinner, ya know." Menma felt the hairs at the end of his neck standing on end as he remembered that night. His mother's flaming red hair had lifted up in the hair like a nine-tailed kitsune.

His female blonde companion was blushing like a red tomato. "Wha?!" This was definitely moving too fast. Sure, meeting the parents of your datee was common. But not after one date! _Wait, but that wasn't a date!_ Ino wanted to rip off her bangs in frustration.

Menma chuckled. "Um, are you alright, Ino-chan? You're making funny faces."

Ino sighed, "Yes, Menma-kun." She breathed in through her nose deeply. "I was just thinking... I'm sorry but I don't think I'll be able to-"

"Ino!" Shiori walked right through the shop door with the most impeccable timing. And the biggest, most mischevious smile appeared on her face at the sight before. First the Uchiha and now the Namikaze? Ino would be hitched at the end of this month at this rate! _Sure I would love it if someone extremely prestigious like the Hyugas would find interest..._ Shiori thought looking Menma up and down._ But this one is rather good-looking also._ _I approve! _

"Well now, Ino. You should have told me you were bringing your boyfriend over!" She giggled.

"Boyfriend?/?!" Ino exclaimed whilst Menma said calmly.

Shiori nodded and clapped her hands together. "Let me make some tea! What brings you here to our lovely flower shop,_ Menma-kun_?"

Menma could feel a major sweat dropping coming in. He had heard from Sakura that Ino's mother was rather energetic. But he didn't think she was actually being this serious! "Oh, um, Yamanka-san, I just came to invite Ino to eat my house... But if you're busy I can always drop by another time..."

"Oh! Just call me mother! We might as well be family, Menma-kun." Shiori laughed. "Of course Ino can go to meet your family!" Ino knew that was Shiori for 'You better get your ass up stairs and put on some make up 'cause you're going'!

"But wouldn't you need help with the shop, Mama?" Ino pleaded desperately.

But Shiori would have none of that and promptly pushed the two teenagers out the door. "Don't rush!" She slammed the shop door.

"I-I'm so sorry about that Menma-kun..." Ino said after about ten minutes of just standing in shock. "Mama is just a little... Eccentric."

Menma blinked a couple of times. "I... I see." _And I thought Yoshino was bad!_ Because of Shikamaru's idiocy, Yoshino was constantly worrying and babying him. She even crushed his pain pills and stirred it into his applesauce so he wouldn't, quote on quote, "choke on them". It was scary. "Um, are you ready to come over?" Like you had a choice...

Ino nodded after a moment," Lead the way, Menma-kun."

* * *

Officially meeting the Namikaze family was an experience Ino Yamanaka would never forget.

With Kushina's long, flaming red hair and pretty round face, Ino had thought she was a model found in one of Hinata's many magazines!

Kushina closed her eyes and clapped her hands together gleefully, "It's so very nice meet you in person, Yamanaka-chan!" She said.

"Ha-hai!" Ino bowed immediately. "It's nice meeting you, also, Namikaze-san."

Menma's mother waved her hand. "Any friend of Menma can call me Kushina." Kushina said warmly. "We just had to meet the girl that our Menma went on a date with."

Menma let out an embarrassed, "Ma!" while Ino blushed and shooked her head with a 'It wasn't really a date!' which only made Kushina laughed. "It's so cute how innocent love is when you're young." She sighed nostalgically. But she quickly ended the moment by clapping her hands together once more and looked sharply at her son. "Go and get your father. He should be home by now."

The young Namikaze nodded 'sadly' and walked out the front door to get his dad. And Ino gulped. She had heard plenty of stories about the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero (aka the Akai Chishio no Habanero) from Shiori from when she was in the Academy. "Ah, um..."

But Kushina smiled warmly again, "And you can help me finish up with dinner." She said as she handed Ino a butcher knife.

Ino blinked in surprised, "Dinner?"

"What?" Kushina asked, eyebrow raised. "Did you expect me to terrorize you the minute my son left the household?"

_Kind of..._ Ino looked down at her feet ashamed. She should've known better than to doubt the mother of Menma Namikaze. Menma! One of Sakura's best guy friends other than Sasuke. Surely the orange-and-black clad shinobi had to get his kind and uplifting personality from someone.

Kushina's voice cut through Ino's thoughts. "I thought about it at first but after Menma mentioned how shy and adorable you were I just had to change my mind!"

It took all of Ino's will power to keep her jaw from dropping. She did?! Maybe Kushina wasn't as nice as she just seemed mere seconds ago.

"Just kidding." Kushina giggled. "Now follow me to the kitchen. I wanted to talk to you actually."

Ino followed, "You wanted to talk?" She repeated and Kushina nodded. "About... Menma-kun?" The red haired woman passed her a few stalks of celery to chop.

"That's right." She said. "I can tell my son really likes you, it's written all over his face and actions. So I wanted to know how you felt in return. I do not want my son pining after someone who doesn't think of him as anything more than a friend."

Those words pierced through Ino liked a million arrows. That was a good question. She bit her lip in thought. _All this time I had always crushed on Uchiha-san even though I knew of his player status..._ It had been liked that since the first day she went to the Academy. But then, Menma-kun... Her mind quickly shut down when her thoughts reached to her feelings of the aforementioned boy.

She had always believed in her feelings in Sasuke. Watching him from a distance, admiring him -albeit with other girls- from a distance. But she had never taken a sideways glance at Menma. Mainly because of the vivacious Hinata's feelings for him, and the rule about never liking your friend's crush. But now after getting the chance to know him and interact with him, every time she thought about Menma...

Ino felt a warm, fluttery feeling that felt like everlasting sunshine. It felt so right, yet so wrong knowing Hinata's feelings.

Which was the exact reason for holding Ino back from reaching her answer.

"You both remind me a lot of Minato and myself." Kushina said suddenly causing Ino to look quickly at the woman and pause in her celery chopping. "It's true. I had a similar problem." She smiled. "When I was younger I was always bold and daring, much like your friend Hinata. But I never had a real interest in anybody. But I was terribly shy with boys after meeting Minato, ya know.

He was a very popular boy, but he wasn't a player like the Uchiha boy." Ino winced as it seemed Kushina read her mind, but the Uzumaki-Namikaze woman continued. "He was a very kind, studious young man. The top of his class, while I was the lowest. And because of Red Hot personality, I showed my affections by 'hating him'. Always yelling at him and hitting him upside the head.

But despite all that, he was always kind to me. And I was constantly in denial about my love for him until one night he rescued me. I'd always hated my hair, ya know. But since that night, I've always referred to my hair as the red thread of fate. And that was all it took to make me fall deeper and deeper in love with him. But I had a huge obstacle."

Ino was practically entranced with Kushina's tale at this rate. The story about the red thread of fate was a tale they got from the East, about soul mates and destiny and such. "An obstacle?"

Kushina nodded, "His millions of fangirls. I may of talked big, but I couldn't help but have a small fear of them. It's amazing what some people will do for what they call love." Ino shuddered as she remembered the incident with Hinata and her encounter with Nadeshiko. "But if I was really going to except my feelings for Minato I had to stand up to those bullies once and for all. And I did. And you can probably guess the result of that." Kushina looked at Ino directly in the eye. "I got a loving husband and a beautiful son."

Ino couldn't help but give a small smile of her own, "Yes. Menma-kun is a very wonderful person." She felt her cheeks flush.

"So you see, Ino?" Kushina and said girl began chopping up the vegetables again. "You absolutely cannot help who you love despite their personalities or their fangirls. But in order to come to terms yourself you must go through obstacles. And you won't get anywhere by running away like a meek mouse. You'll have to fight, whether physically or verbally.

And that, I believe is the lesson you needed to learn."

_**~`; ~**_

After her discussion with Menma's mother she felt as if she felt a new leaf turned over for her. And it was extremely interesting having a dinner with the Namikaze family that was as lively as their son. Afterwards, Menma offered to walk her home since it was very late. Which was exactly what they were still in the midst of doing.

"Sorry about if my Ma scared the crap out of you." Menma chuckled nervously as he looked down at his smiling companion. But she had such a serene and happy look on her face he doubted she was traumatized by anything at his home.

Ino shook her head and looked back at him, "No, no." She protested softly. "I really enjoyed myself, Menma-kun."

Menma gave that trademark toothy grin of his, "I'm glad you did. I really had fun hanging out with you the other night."

"Me too."

"Did you have anymore dreams about that other world?" Menma asked and Ino felt a rush a memories. She and Menma had shared similar dreams about living in other world where everything and everyone was completely different than the norm.

"Not lately..." She replied truthfully. "What about you?"

Menma looked down darkly immediately after she asked and Ino regretted ever asking. "Mines have been nothing but nightmares, ya know." He muttered, his speech patterns beginning to match his mothers. "Sure its fun having those dreams, but... It's like, I can't even begin to imagine never knowing my parents since birth and being treated like a damn demon."

He wrapped his arms around himself and stopped walking. "It's... It's scary." He shuddered, blue eyes widen in true fear. And if he was anything like his parents, that was something they showed rarely.

"I..." Ino felt as if her tongue was knotting. "I'm so sorry, Menma- ah!" She let out a soft yelp as she felt herself being pulled in Menma's chest. Her heart was pounding and her face was redder than Sakura's shirt, but she couldn't help but feel comforted by the soft smell of fresh laundry detergent. She closed her eyes.

Menma's face rested in the crook of her neck. "Ya know..." He whispered. "I'd really appreciated if you allowed me to do this. Even if it's just this once, ya know." He held her tighter.

And Ino, feeling such a strong surge of emotion, complied to the boys wishes. Not able to resist it even if she wanted to. And the funny thing was, she _didn't_ want to. She wanted Menma to hold her like this. She didn't care as much about Hinata loving Menma.

Because lying there in that moment, Ino felt at ease. So safe. As if even if the world were to end right now... As long as she stayed wrapped in those arms that wouldn't matter. All that mattered... Ino opened her eyes, blue orbs shining in a new found determination.

_Is that I know what to do now._

* * *

_UPDATE NO JUTSU!  
__Alright! Finally an update from the extraordinary SunshineSketch who fills the world with the bright rays of her stories! Pfft... Yeah right. But anyways guys, I'm back. __And WOOHOO! I finally got my 100th review! And I thank [TrueGaaraRose] for participating in the contest. You rock, girl!_

_After so long of being on hiatus, my arm is finally out its cast this week. So to celebrate I decided to update for all my faithful readers! And I've done more research on RtN, and... Kakashi acts like Guy and Guy acts like a depressed old guy... OMG!_

_On another, on my break I decided to catch up in my manga readings of the wonderful Naruto series and got to chapter 614 and... I just... I just don't know what the Kishimoto was thinking. Just. Never. I cried for like an hour drinking chocolate milk and eating comfort food. So..._

_**RIP Neji Hyuga**  
**July 3rd - Chapter 614**  
May You Rest In Peace with Hizashi_

_~SunshineSketch_

**Next Chapter:_ Black Bryony ~ Be my support  
Preview: _**Something within Ino snapped right then and there. It was like Alternate-Ino had taken over her body and soul. So with the meanest glare the shy Yamanaka could produce, she stared Hinata right in the eye. "That's right... I said that." She said, her voice deepening with adult-like maturity. "I said that I-" (TeeHee!)


	9. Black Bryony

**_Hanakotoba no Kazukazu_**

_... The Many Meanings of Flowers_

_**x:x:x:x:x**_

_**Summary: **In which Sasuke Uchiha pursues a shy Yamanaka. A series prompted by Road to Ninja._

* * *

**_Black Bryony ~ Be my support_**

_And Ino, feeling such a strong surge of emotion, complied to the boys wishes. Not able to resist it even if she wanted to. And the funny thing was, she didn't want to. She wanted Menma to hold her like this. She didn't care as much about Hinata loving Menma._

_Because lying there in that moment, Ino felt at ease. So safe. As if even if the world were to end right now... As long as she stayed wrapped in those arms that wouldn't matter. All that mattered... Ino opened her eyes, blue orbs shining in a new found determination._

**_Is that I know what to do now._**

_That's what I said last night but... _Ino had her eyes open widely in panic as she stood in front of the gate entrance of the Hyuga Manor, home of one furious Hinata Hyuga. _I don't know if I'll be able to do it!_ For the past thirty minutes Ino had been standing in front of the entrance gate debating whether or not to knock or run away and pretend it never happened.

But then Ino thought to what Kushina told her last night about running away and fighting your own battles. She sighed. After what happened between her and Menma last night she absolutely couldn't run off this time! _After all..._ She looked to her left and beside her stood a stoic Sasuke. _Uchiha-san needs to here what I have to say also._ "I... I'm feeling kind of nervous right now, Uchiha-san." She said, laughing nervously in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Well don't be." He said. "The worst you'll have to worry about is the perverted one after all." It took all of Sasuke's strength not to smile. He always enjoyed his past experiences with the two perverts of Team Guy. Rock Lee, the panty-stealer. And Neji Hyuga, the lecherous and immature cousin of Hinata.

Ino shuddered, "Th-thank you for reminding me, Uchiha-san..." She muttered under her breath sarcastically.

"..." Sasuke looked at the shy girl. His onyx colored eyes completely focused on her actions. "You've really seemed to open up a bit." He finally stated, making Ino's blue gaze dart up at him. "It must because of all the handing out with Menma that's done that."

Red colored Ino's cheeks at the mentioning of the of the boy. And looked down at her feet. "Maybe." She thought back, she hadn't felt as if she'd opened up. But maybe it just took longer to realize things about your own self than it is to realize things about other people. "Thank you for coming with me, Uchiha-san."

Sasuke shrugged and gave his usual light crooked smile, "No biggie, Yamanaka-chan." He nodded at the door. "Just get on with the business."

"Ha-hai!" Ino nodded in agreement and she raised her hand to the tall wooden door, and paused right before doing knocking. _I don't know if I can do this..._ Her mind was frantic with worry. _Ca... Can I really stick up to Hinata-chan?_ _Can I?!_ But a pale hand covering hers snapped her back into it as it firmly, yet softly, made her tiny fist knock on the door. But he quickly let go.

"You were taking to long..." He grumbled, cheeks flushed as he looked away from Ino's curious look. Rubbing his neck, embarrassed. Was it her or did all the people Ino interacted with in this town have a weird habit of rubbing their necks? Ino didn't have time to ponder because the door opened, she braced herself...

But it was not the Hyuga that Ino wanted. In fact, it was probably the one that she wanted to see the least. Neji. And his nose was flaring in excitement. "Ooohh~, Ino-san! How very nice to see you!" When he looked to Sasuke his super kindness faded away instantly. "Uchiha."

Sasuke felt an eyebrow twitch irritably, "Hyuga."

_I should probably intervene now..._ Ino sweatdropped and bowed politely. "Excuse us, Neji-san... But is Hinata-chan home?"

When Ino bowed Neji was practically snorting in excitement, and Hinata-sama wasn't right there to interrupt him! The gods were _definitely_ on his side today. "She's training with Hanabi-sama at the moment. Would you like me to bring her for you?" Inwardly Neji begged that she wouldn't say yes.

And you could imagine how happy he was when Ino shook her head, "Uchiha-san and I were hoping to go and meet her ourselves." She said, but immediately looked at her now twiddling thumbs. "Be-because I know the way around the Compound." The Hyugas were one of the very prestigious Clans in Konoha and probably wouldn't appreciate outsiders walking around on the inside.

Then again, the last few times the medic-nin had gone there Hiashi had declared her practically a part of the family and proceeded to drink sake until he dropped, and his twin brother Hizashi, apologized profusely. So maybe they wouldn't get as mad as Ino had thought.

Neji stepped aside, a huge -and of course pervy- grin spread about his face, "Follow me then." Then glaring pointedly at Sasuke he shrugged as if he could care less what the Uchiha boy did. Sure, Neji greatly admired Itachi, but he and Sasuke _never_ saw eye to eye.

And while the followed the Branch Hyuga, they could hear the sound of Hinata and Hanabi sparring. And from what they could tell, Hanabi was getting her behind handed to her on a platinum platter.

"Wa-wait Onee-sama!" Hanabi yelled.

WHAP!

"You gotta move faster if you're gonna dodge my hit, runt!" Hinata yelled back, not caring at all. When it came to sparring, Hanabi was nothing but a punching bag.

BOP!

"You're moving too fast!" Hanabi squealed.

THUNK!

"No," Hinata screamed. "You're just moving too _slow_!"

Ino winced at every hit she could here. Hinata was very competitive and aggressive by nature, and by the end of the session, Hanabi almost always ended up with a bruise everywhere on her body. "Hinata-chan is really letting Hanabi-chan have it..." She mumbled, this was only adding on to her panic of standing up to Hinata.

Neji nodded in agreement, "But she's in an especially bad mood today." He said, for once being more mature than he actually once.

Sasuke wasn't reacting any better than Ino. _Sakura did say that Hinata didn't go easy on you at all when you spar with her but..._ He inwardly winced again when he heard another FWAP! _But this is just ridiculous! She really is in a bad mood._ He thought, for once agreeing with what Neji said.

When they finally arrived to the Hyuga Training Field, Ino wasn't all that surprise when she saw Hanabi splayed out onto the ground. But she was shocked when she saw a practical blood _waterfall_ gushing from her nose! No matter how hard Hinata was on her sister, she never made her bleed -intentionally- before. She loved her sister very much despite her abusiveness towards her.

As if Hinata could sense them approaching -which she probably did because of her Byakugan eyes- she whipped her head around. "What do you want now, you perv-" She stopped her sentence abruptly. "What the hell are they doing in our compound."

Ino's skin paled and she took a deep breath to prevent herself from backing out once more. She had spent half the night practicing everything she was going to say to her best friend. And is everything went wrong she would have to hope all her training with her team would keep her ready for any sudden attacks. _But I'm not sure that'll be enough with Hinata-chan..._ "I..." She cleared her throat slightly. "I'm came to talk to you." She got out at last. "Both of us did."

There things that both_ Hinata_ and Sasuke needed to hear.

"..." Byakugan activated, Hinata gave her sister and cousin a pointed glare to exit the premises, and they got out of there faster than a kunai knife. "You too, Uchiha." She growled.

Sasuke just gave her a demeaning look, " She said both of us, Hyuga." He spat back coolly, and Ino held up her hands defensively. This wouldn't go well if the two of them started a fight with one another.

Her eyes met Sasuke's, "Please don't antagonize her, Uchiha-san..." Ino asked softly while Hinata crossed her arms. It was quiet for a moment, so the Yamanaka girl took that as her moment to take control of the situation. She cleared her throat and looked back at Hinata, her arms now laying back down at her sides.

Hinata nodded her chin at her expectantly, "What do you want now, home-wrecker?" The blunette sneered.

Ino winced slightly, "I needed to tell you something. Both you and Uchiha-san." From the corner of her eye she saw Sasuke give her a questioning look. She never said she wanted to tell him and Hyuga something. "It's..." She directed her eyes at her feet as she felt Hinata's pearl-white glare. "It's about Menma-kun."

She heard Sasuke sigh in an expectant manner, like her saw all of this coming before it actually happened. "Hinata-chan," She looked back up. "You've already known long before this that I actually liked Uchiha-san for a long time now..." Ino fought the blushing rising up her neck. "And I was always too scared to say anything because I already knew of your status, Uchiha-san."

Sasuke squirmed a bit.

"And Hinata-chan and Sakura-chan never wanted me to be with you in the first place. So I really tried my best to avoid him advances on me, which was when..." Ino paused a moment to catch a shaky breath. "Around the time I ran into Menma-kun, the night you saw me and him, Hinata-chan. He was trying to avoid Kakashi-sensei and in the end it turned out into a night at Ichiraku's-"

Hinata cut her off angrily, "So it was a date, you conniving-"

"Let her finish before you start waving your hands away, Hyuga." Sasuke cut her off in return, and Ino gave him a grateful glance.

The only blonde in the room took another deep breath, "Then our argument happened, and after a run-in with Nadeshiko-san, Uchiha-san helped me and for a tad moment I did feel as if I still loved him." She folded a hand over her other hand, clasping them tightly together. "But after I met Kushina-san... I realized that I've been running from something.

I'd never even thought about it because of our rules and conduct of friendship. I never wanted to hurt you, but I can't run from my heart either." She looked Hinata directly in the eye, "I... I think that I might like Menma-kun too, and I'm really sorry..." She quickly gave her dark-eyed companion a look of apology, but he didn't seem all the sad. He looked more like he expected this also.

She looked back at Hinata, whose bangs had covered her eyes. "_What_ did you just say?" The Hyuga grounded out furiously.

Something within Ino snapped right then and there. It was like Alternate-Ino had taken over her body and soul. So with the meanest glare the shy Yamanaka could produce, she stared Hinata right in the eye. "That's right... I said that." She said, her voice deepening with adult-like maturity. "I said that I like Menma-kun, too."

This had to be the greatest moment of Ino Yamanaka history.

"But I can't stop being your friend either." She said, taking a small step towards her best friend.

Sasuke stopped her by her forearm, hesitant to let her near the angered Hyuga. It would be a bad idea to let her near the other girl no matter the status of their friendship. But when she looked back him with a look that read 'It's alright, Uchiha-san', relunctantly, he let go of her._ Looks like Menma won this time,_ He smirked as he stared at Ino's back. That boy could make even the shyest of people turn courageous in moments like this.

"So..." Ino began. "What I'm asking is for your blessing, and your friendship back." With a gulp she raised her two small fists. "Because... I'll- I'll fight you if I have to do!" She clenched her eyes shut as she waited for the awaited fist. But it never came.

"Heh heh..."

Ino and Sasuke looked at Hinata as if she lost her mind. Was she... laughing?! What just happened to all the tension in the room?

"I never thought I'd ever meet someone with the balls, existent or not, to stand up to me like that." The blunette said with a forced smile, her eyes finally fell out of there Byakugan. But the sadness in them remained. "Especially a crybaby like you, Ino."

"So you..." Ino's eyes widened. "So you mean I can?"

With as much willpower she could make herself produce, Hinata nodded. "No guy can ever become between best friends right?" She said, her forced smile still on her face. Ino felt the pain in the other girls heart easily from where she was standing. "But you better step up your A-game, you here me, Yamanaka! You too, Uchiha!"

* * *

"Itai!"

"Damn it, Ino! Hold still already!" Hinata snapped, almost finished doing Ino's hair.

Sakura sweatdropped, "Maybe you're pulling too hard, Hina." She said, as she worked on Ino's bangs. But Hinata simply snorted, muttering that Ino was simply tender-headed. "There you go!" Sakura exclaimed cheerfully as she snapped the hair clip in place.

Hinata fluffed up Ino's newer, and higher, ponytail. "I'm done up here, too."

Ino looked at the mirror, astounded. "Is that really me?" Her hair mirrored her Alternate-self's hair perfectly, from the flat bang over her right eye to the hair clip to the left.

"It definitely is." Both Hinata and Sakura said in unison.

For the Spring Festival, Hinata and Sakura refused to let their friend wear her hair like a sheep dog. So with a bit of force and some help from Shiori, they were able to convince Ino to put her up. On her body she adorned a purple and lavender yukata, while Hinata wore a blue one and Sakura wore a pink one.

Hinata put her hair up in her favorite side ponytail. It was guaranteed knock out in her words, perfect to wow Menma. Ino gave a small smile. Even though the two of them rekindled their friendship, Hinata still said that she wouldn't go down without a fight. But until her wish actually happened, she decided to be both her teammates 'friend date'.

And Sakura, her eyes glistening, had her hair in a feathery bun held up with a red hair clip, the tips out to the side. And to Ino's pleasure, the pinkette agreed to be Shikamaru's date to the festival.

Everything was falling into place.

_Ding Dong._ "Girl's!" Shiori called. "The boys are here!"

Ino suddenly felt nervous. Hopefully Menma would like her new hair style. But she didn't get time to contemplate it, for Hinata pulled her up out her seat. "Well," the blunette said. "Lead the way, Ino." Sakura smiled and nodded.

Ino gave a short giggle, "Yeah." she nodded. "Yeah."

_**~ Fin ~**_

* * *

_UPDATE NO JUTSU!  
__Wow... I never thought I'd make it to the second before final chapter of HnK... __Don't I feel extremely proud of myself. And I couldn't of done it without all the reviews, favorites, follows, and supports from all my fans/readers. It was nice writing for you all._

_So I hope you'll all enjoy the last installment of HnK and the sequel coming up._

_~SunshineSketch_

**Next Chapter:_ Special Mentionings Preview: Ue O Idō Suru ~ Moving On  
Summary: _**In which the Hyuga and Uchiha learn to move on. A series prompted by Road to Ninja. Sequel to Hanakotoba no Kazukazu.


	10. Sepcial Mentionings and Preview

**_Hanakotoba no Kazukazu_**

_... The Many Meanings of Flowers_

_**x:x:x:x:x**_

_**Summary: **In which Sasuke Uchiha pursues a shy Yamanaka. A series prompted by Road to Ninja._

* * *

**_Special Mentionings_**

_So, I'd like to give** shout outs** to..._

_[ShikaIno1], just for being my first reviewer._

_[TrueGaaraRose] You not only tickled me with your reviews, but you even made fanart for the story. I'll make sure to upload it as the title cover soon._

_[Sandy Smiles] Whenever it took me too long in updating she always made sure to remind me of HnK, so thanks a bunchies gal!_

_And thanks to all the other people who favorited, followed, and reviewed this story! I hope you enjoyed the story!_

**_Ue O Idō Suru ~ Moving On  
Summary: _**In which the Hyuga and Uchiha learn to move on. A series prompted by Road to Ninja. Sequel to Hanakotoba no Kazukazu.

_The upcoming sequel of HnK that will be staring Hinata and Sasuke as the main characters of the story. You get to see the recent developments in Ino and Menma's relationship and how affects them. The main pairing will be RtN!SasuHina._

_~ SunshineSketch_


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